Nobody's Home
by FriendlyLittleDemon
Summary: "I'm a Slayer. You're a vampire! I'm supposed to kill you, not have feelings for you!" Oliver growled, giving the peroxide blonde before her the nastiest glare she could muster. "Yeah? Well, how do you think I'm feeling?" Spike's accent was highlighted by his anger at himself. At her. At the whole situation. He'd killed two Slayers in the past. But he'd never loved one. Spike/OC.
1. Chapter 1 The Gem

**Disclaimer: If I owned Buffy the Vampire Slayer, do you really think I'd be here on FanFiction? No, that honor belongs to Joss Whedon. That lucky, lucky man...**

**Also, a couple things have changed from the original story line. This is set after Buffy's death in season five. But the events before that are a tad bit different. Season five happened after season three, basically, and season four hasn't exactly happened yet. They all just took a break before college started. Oz hasn't left yet. This will happen over the events of season four, but with differences and a new Slayer. It's also set in more modern time, like, say, 2011? Also, Faith hasn't woken up from her coma yet and Spike hasn't gotten his chip yet.**

******WARNING: Spike has a few slightly vulgar moments in this chapter, but that is mostly due to the fact that he's a pissed off vampire that just got dumped by his vampiric girlfriend. Again. _Of course_, he's gonna have a few dirty thoughts. Anyways... ENJOY! :3**

* * *

Chapter 1 "The Gem"

Buffy Summers had lived a sad life. Up until she was sixteen, she lived a normal teenage life. She went to school, she captained the cheer leading squad, and she was homecoming queen all during her Freshman year of high school. Her parents got along and she was an only child. She was happy. Then she was visited by a man that told her of her destiny. She was to fight the darkness in the world. From then on, she was a supernaturally strong being that fought everything in her path and kept her friends and family safe. She fought many battles and she had great friends. She even gained a kid sister out of her destiny. But it didn't last. The inevitable happened and she lost her life in the line of duty. Saving her sister from a horrible and painful death. Buffy Anne Summers: 1991-2011. Beloved sister, devoted friend. She saved the world. A lot.

Rupert Giles sat in numb silence. In his hand sat not the usual cup of tea, but a mug of hot coffee. As he'd said before, "Tea is soothing, I wish to be tense." He knew that he should be brave for the others, but he couldn't help but to be depressed. His Slayer died only three weeks ago. He had to bury the girl that he had come to think of like the daughter he never had. He believed that even though they were all depressed over Buffy's death, they couldn't just stop living. To do that would just be an insult to her memory. It would mean that even their memories of her were gone. That they had never had any good memories with her. Every laugh, every smile, and every terrific moment they all spent together would just disappear if all they thought of was the bad. Giles knew this.

A knock on the door of his apartment alerted him to the fact that he had a visitor. With a sigh and a cautious mind, the ex-Watcher stood and made his way over to his front door, but not before he took up an ax from his desk. It was still day time out and he wasn't expecting any company, so he had to believe it was either a confused human or a deranged demon. So, hiding the weapon behind his back, he approached the door and opened it to see...not what he was expecting.

A girl. A blonde girl, in fact. She appeared to be no older than eighteen. Her hair hung in loose waves around her face and down her back, topped off with a dark straw fedora. She wore a sleeveless striped brown shirt and a pair of shorts that showed off her long, shapely legs. On her feet she wore a pair of stylish strap sandals and she had a brown leather satchel slung over her shoulders carelessly. To finish off her outfit, she had a large monkey ring on her thumb, a dark leather bound jewel bracelet, a gold tiger necklace, and a gold and purple snake bangle. Her crystalline blue eyes blinked slowly at him before her pale, pouty lips opened.

"You're Rupert Giles, right?" Her voice was slightly husky, but still very carefree and young. It only served to prove his theory about her age.

"Um...yes, yes, that would be me." Giles replied with a nod of his head.

"The ex-Watcher?" He blinked his eyes at her so she continued. "The Council sent me here. On account of the death of the last Slayer?" She visibly saw the pain that the comment caused him. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I have this tendency to be a bit...blunt and straight to the point at times..." She sighed as she scratched the back of her neck. "Um, look. I was sent here by the Council because I'm apparently supposed to be the new Slayer and with Sunnydale being the biggest Hellmouth or whatever, I'm most needed here?"

"Oh, um, yes. W-why don't you come in?" Giles moved aside and let the teenager pass by him. With a glance around outside, he closed the door behind him and turned to face the expectant blonde. Her lips had spread into a small smile. "Um, there must've been some sort of mistake. I-I'm no longer a Watcher."

"That may be, but the Council seems to think that you're the best to train me. The last Slayer was able to stay in activity for a complete four years. That's the longest a Slayer's ever been alive. If I'm your Slayer, they believe that I'll stay alive longer than with anyone else." She explained before she turned and headed straight for his kitchen. "Do you got anything to eat? I don't know if it's these new Slayer abilities or what, but I'm always starving. I'm Oliver, by the way." She grinned up at him with a two rows of pearly white teeth. "Oliver Northman."

"What? Oh, yes. That will happen. I believe I have some leftover meatloaf in the fridge if it interests you." Giles was confused. Not only was this girl supposedly his new Slayer, but she had essentially walked into his home as if she owned the place and asked for food. She was definitely a strange one.

But as he watched her move around his kitchen as if she knew it like the back of her hand already, he suddenly had faith in this Oliver Northman. He knew that he could trust her with this job-no...destiny that she had been given. She was young and obviously spirited. Hopefully, being the Slayer wouldn't crush her spirit. He sincerely hoped it wouldn't.

* * *

"So...you're the new Slayer?" Willow Rosenberg asked with a raised red eyebrow at the younger girl. Oliver was now (for lack of a better word) shoveling spoonful after spoonful of Giles's meatloaf into her mouth. The redhead honestly wondered where the blonde put it all; she was so tiny at 5'1" and 110 lbs.

"Yup." Oliver grinned once she had swallowed the last of the meatloaf and set aside the bowl she had been using, trading it for the large glass of ice water. "Activated officially three weeks ago, but I'm not quite as up to par yet. I need more training if I'm to fight the evils of the world. Which means, you," she turned and pointed directly at Giles, whom had been pacing behind the couch that she, Willow, and Xander Harris were seated at, "need to start me on my training ASAP, mister."

"Um, am I the only one that thinks it's strange that a Slayer just pops out of no where without any warning? I mean... Sorry to say, but she's a bit creepy. And where on God's green Earth are you putting all of that food?! That's not human." Xander stated with crossed arms and narrowed, untrustworthy eyes. Giles knew that the one to be the least accepting of the new Slayer would be Xander. He had been essentially in love with Buffy, no matter what he said. It would definitely take some time before he accepted Oliver.

"I've contacted the Council and they informed me that Oliver was to come on her own. Another Watcher was to call me and tell me that she was coming, which they neglected to do." Giles explained with a sigh as he took off his glasses to clean them.

"And I've always had a high matabolism, but it's just gotten higher with all the slayage I've been doing." Oliver shrugged. She wasn't exactly shocked that this guy wasn't very trusting towards her. She was a new girl that just showed up out of nowhere. Of course it was to be expected that somebody wouldn't want her there.

"Yes, because that explains everything." Xander blinked rapidly.

With a sigh, Giles ceased his pacing and turned to face his new Slayer and his previous students. "None the less, you have a sacred duty, Oliver. You will patrol tonight and tomorrow you will report back to me."

"Yes, sir, Giles, sir." Oliver grinned with a mock salute before she vaulted over the side of the couch. "But first, I gotta head home and change. This outfit? Definitely not the best to fight in." She shook her head as she scooped her bag up and back over her shoulders.

"I'll come with you." Willow smiled happily as she too stood. She walked around the couch while Xander stared up at them in disbelief. "I can show you where the most recent believed vampires are supposed to pop up tonight."

"That would be helpful. Plus, you get to meet the Fahjah." The way she pronounced it made Xander look up quickly.

"Wait, you've seen Austin Powers?"

"Of course." Oliver had the look on her face. That one said, "who hasn't seen Austin Powers?" "Living with two men, you can't help but to watch these weird and perverted movies."

"What about Star Wars? And Lord of the Rings? And Batman?" Xander was officially geeking out as he followed the two girls out the door. Giles smiled in amusement; he didn't really have to worry about his new Slayer fitting in with those two after all. He never had to worry apparently.

* * *

After switching out her outfit for a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a red form fitting scoop necked tee-shirt with a large black belt slung over her hips, Oliver and Willow bounded down the stairs to see how Xander was doing with the burly Mr. George Northman in the kitchen.

"I love your earrings, by the way." Willow pointed out the pair of gold buck earrings placed delicately in the blonde's ear lobes.

"Yeah, they come in handy when I'm going camping." Oliver smiled as she opened the door to the hall closet.

"Whoa." Willow's eyes widened at the sight before her. The entire floor of the closet was completely covered in shoes. Not just tennis shoes either. No, there were boots, heels, clogs, sandals, and slippers. There was also a cubicle for different bags (mostly satchels) and different jackets were placed on the hanger. "This is...shoe paradise."

"Heh, yeah. I kinda have this problem with shoes and bags and jackets." Oliver said with a blush as she rubbed the back of her neck. Before Willow could reply, the blonde abruptly dropped to the floor and quickly pulled on a pair of stylish dark brown shin length boots. Just as quickly as she had dropped, she rose and pulled a woven brown satchel from the cubicle and shrugged a brown leather jacket onto her shoulders. "Ready?"

"Wow... You're fast at getting ready."

"Yeah, well, again. Living with two men? Gotta be fast. My dad and Tony will definitely not wait on me." Oliver rolled her eyes with a smirk before she led the way into the kitchen where laughter was coming from.

"Hey, Xand, you ready to go?" Willow questioned the dark haired fellow.

"What? Now? The convo was just getting good!" Xander complained and George chuckled.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Next time you come by, we'll pick right back up with our Darth Vader debate."

"This is the nerdy man that is my Papa." Oliver grinned as she kissed her father on the cheek before grabbing Xander's collar and dragging him out the kitchen door with her.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. Northman." Willow called as she closed the door behind her. George smiled and shook his head as he continued on with making dinner. His daughter ate a lot, sure, but his son ate ten times more. Together, they probably spent three hundred dollars on food alone. At least he knew his children were well fed.

* * *

"What happened to "you have to patrol tonight", Oliver?" Willow asked accusingly as they all sat in the Bronze listening to the live band for the night. "Won't Giles be mad?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Will." Oliver smiled as she crossed her legs under the table. "I'll get to the whole patrolling in a while. Just taking a little down time first."

"I gotta say that my first impression of you was completely wrong." Xander said with a shake of his head and a sip of a red Solo cup filled with Coke. "At first glance, I thought you were gonna be this gun ho, "all work and no play" kinda slay gal. Pleasantly surprised am I."

"Heh, yeah, I've never really liked to live the tragic and depressing life that is seriousness. Love the fun and amusing." Oliver assured before a particular song she enjoyed started playing. "Ooh, good song. Let's dance!"

"W-what? I don't know if that's-" The blonde quickly interrupted Willow by pulling her out of her seat and onto the dance floor. Xander grinned and quickly followed after the two. None of them knew that they were being watched by a pair of curious blue orbs.

Spike had just made it back into town a week ago when he heard rumors about the Gem of Amara being in Sunny_hell_. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the Slayer and that was truly surprising to him. Usually, she was the first of the Scoobies he saw once he makes it into town. So, in his curiosity, he had gone to the Bronze only to see the Scoobies, minus a Slayer, dancing with a cute little blonde thing. His love for old rock allowed him to recognize the song: Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie. It definitely was strange to see someone as innocent as Red dancing to a song as dark as this. Well, if you could call her swaying back and forth dancing, anyways. Kids these days have such a different version of dancing than his time...

The bleached blonde vampire turned his eyes back onto the little blonde. From the back, it would be easy to mistake for the Slayer, but he could now see the differences. This blonde was shorter and wasn't quite as much of a twig. No, she seemed to have a bit more meat on her bones. Not to mention, Spike could make out black coloring mixed in with her sun blonde locks. He got all that from looking at her back. She was dancing with the whelp and Red, of course, but seemed to drift off into her own world. He watched intently as she around on the spot and threw her hands in the air. He saw her face then. She was beautiful, for lack of a better word. Spike usually didn't go for blondes, but this one... Well, he wouldn't mind getting to know this one a little better. Her heart shaped face, pouty lips, and half lidded almond shaped eyes just seemed to add to her beauty. He noticed that she had a straight, button like nose. His eyes dropped to her neck and savored the pale flesh; he could almost see the pulsing of her veins. The dancing that she was doing had to have gotten her blood pumping. He could practically taste her sweet blood already.

"Blondie Bear!" A voice cried to his left and he jumped before he sighed and shook his head. A pair of thin, tan arms wrapped around his neck and the person placed a lipstick filled kiss to his cheek.

"Harm!" Spike growled as he tugged her arms from his neck and wiped the lipstick kiss from his pale skin. "How many times do I have to tell you with the bloody lipstick?!"

"But, Spike, I'm bored." The long haired blonde pouted up at him and it only made him want to rip her head off. "There's nobody cool to eat here. Let's go back to the lair and have sex." Harmony Kendall requested with a giddy smile and Spike sighed before he turned his gaze back onto the dancing blonde with the Scoobies. He watched as her arms wrapped around both Red and the whelp's shoulders and they made their way back to their table. They soon made their way out of the Bronze and Spike couldn't help but to watch as the blonde's hips swayed back and forth. He thought of her blood pumping through her veins and his mouth watered.

"Yeah." Spike smiled falsely as he turned to face his "girlfriend". "Let's go."

* * *

"So this...is UC Sunnydale." Oliver voiced as she stood, looking around at the college in question. Willow stood beside her with a smile, having already visited the college a week before to get their room all set up. She had put herself on the list for a room mate and it just so happens that Oliver was the woman that turned out to be put with her. They had found that out earlier that morning. It was Saturday now, the day of Open House for the students. This way the students could get comfortable with the campus before school officially started on Monday. Students had been allowed to begin moving their things in for a week, however, and Willow had taken advantage of that factor.

"UC Sunnydale is this." Willow nodded as she hugged her folders to her chest.

"Hmm... It's got a good vibe." Oliver grinned before the two began on their journey through the college. It was still early in the morning and they were on their way to get their IDs before the line got too long. "I like."

"Coming from the Slayer, that makes me feel good about going to this college." Willow admitted and Oliver smiled up at her.

As they made their way through the college and became accustomed to their new living conditions, they met many people which included Willow's boyfriend, Oz. He apparently was a guitarist in the local band Dingoes Ate My Baby. Oliver enjoyed talking to him because their personalities seemed to clash so horribly, but they would obviously eventually become great friends. He was aloof which countered her strangeness and smiley attitude. It was interesting to watch them converse, Willow thought. She was glad that the woman that was becoming a good friend to her was getting along well enough with her boyfriend.

Later that night, Willow went to see Dingoes Ate My Baby in action, but Oliver sadly couldn't attend with them. She had patrolling to do and was eager to scope out the town while she was at it.

After staking a few vampires, Oliver returned to the room she was sharing with Willow. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck in slight pain. A vampire had managed to throw her into a tree and made her see cartoon birdies for a few seconds. She knew she had to train more with Giles, but she had only been in town for less than a week; they most definitely hadn't been able to create a schedule quite yet.

"Hey." A voice caused her to look up and she turned to see Willow and Oz quickly approaching her.

"Somebody we know from high school's back from her summer vacation. And she's a little bit different." Willow said with her hand pressed to her neck.

Oliver raised an eyebrow curiously. "Different? Different, how?"

"Paler?" Willow suggested as people walked passed them in the hallway.

"Pale-oh!" Oliver's eyes widened as she realized and she nodded quickly.

"Get in now?" Willow whimpered and her blonde roommate quickly spun around and opened their door, leading both her and Oz into the room. Oz was quick to set his girlfriend down on her bed and Oliver pulled the First-Aid kit from beneath her own bed. The werewolf carefully began to clean out Willow's wound as Oliver sat down on her bed and looked at them curiously.

"Okay, so a vampire that you used to know is in town?" The blonde raised her eyebrows.

"Her name's Harmony." Oz replied as he opened a Band-Aid.

"She was your basic mean-girl cheerleader." Willow added with her head tilted to her side, allowing her boyfriend to place a neon green Band-Aid over her new bite mark.

"Ah, I have experience with them." Oliver smiled in amusement, leaning back on her hands behind her. "She must literally be dead without being able to see herself in a mirror."

"She just made me so mad." Willow scowled and Oliver raised her eyebrows as she adopted a whinier tone of voice. "'My boyfriend's gonna beat you up'."

"Boyfriend?" Oliver asked as she straightened up. Harmony didn't seem too frightening, but if she had a boyfriend that was a vampire? He could be trouble.

"Well, if you believe her." Willow rolled her eyes. "She always lied about stuff like that." She took on the Harmony voice again. "'Oh, he goes to another school. You wouldn't know him'."

"Well, Devon dated her for a while, but she was too flaky for him." Oz told them but then smiled. "Which, stop and marvel at the concept."

"Agreeable." Oliver had met the "leader" of Oz's band a few days before and she had to admit that she had to physically wince every time he spoke. He was just too moronic for her. "But if this girl's as horrible as you say she is, this guy that's dating her must be the most tolerant man in the world."

* * *

"So, there's a party tonight." A boy by the name of Graham Miller spoke as he leaned towards where Oliver sat in the Grotto. She smiled up at him in amusement; she had originally been sitting in the cafe with Willow, but the redhead had gone off to get them both some coffee. Minutes after she left, this handsome college boy had plopped himself down across from her and started talking to her. Oliver honestly thought he was cute, but she doubted they would actually go anywhere. "At Wolf house? It's sort of a welcome to campus kinda get together. They do it every year on the first day of classes. You interested in going?"

"Mmhmm..." Oliver mused with a small smirk on her face. "How 'bout this? I ask you five questions that you could've learned about me in the span of five minutes. If you get them right, I'll go with you."

"Challenge expected." Graham smiled at her and she gave a little twitch of her nose as she leaned her chin into the palm of her hand, crossing her legs under the table.

"Mmhmm... What's my last name?"

"Northman."

"Who am I here with?"

"Willow Rosenberg, your roommate and possible best friend."

"What kind of drink do I generally drink?"

"A Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, but you'll settle for a French Vanilla coffee."

"Hmm, you're good." Oliver smiled as she dropped her hands to the table in front of her. "Nobody's ever gotten this far before. Two more questions to go. Confident?"

"Oh, yeah. No way am I gonna quit this late in the game." Graham said with a shake of his head. Oliver giggled lightly and nodded her head.

"Alright. Where am I from?"

"Originally from Canada, but your family moved to New York when you were younger. You came here to go to college."

"Last question then." Oliver smiled as she closed her eyes and covered them with her hand for extra measure. "What color are my eyes?"

Graham was silent for a moment and Oliver was prepared to send him away when he spoke again. "I would say they were blue, but that's not entirely true. They're blue with flakes of green, silver, and yellow." Oliver slowly removed her hand from her eyes and she blinked them rapidly at the boy before her. No one had ever gotten that much correct. Men generally usually look over a few key parts of a woman's body: breast size, facial features, and ass size. Since she was sitting, she knew he wouldn't be able to observe the last part of the equation. But men didn't set the eye color to memory until at least the fourth date when things started to get a tad bit more romantic.

"Well, Mr. Graham Miller," Oliver smiled slightly at him, "you got yourself a date."

"Great." Graham grinned as he slowly stood. "I'll meet you here tonight and we can head over there together?"

"Sounds like a plan, Graham." She grinned up at him, which he returned before he turned and headed back to his table just as Willow was returning with two large coffee mugs.

"Who was that? With the cutie patootie?" Willow smirked mischievously, sitting down in the seat that Graham had recently vacated. "You two seem pretty cozy."

"His name's Graham." Oliver smiled, taking her French Vanilla from her redheaded friend. "He asked me to this party tonight at Wolf house. He passed my little quiz, so I decided what the hell? College is for experimenting."

"Experimenting?" Willow raised a curious red brow.

"Yeah, I mean... Well, he's not really my type." Oliver stated with a shrug of her shoulders. "He's got this All-American thing going for him. Maybe it's the Viking in me, but I'm pretty much used to dating...well, a more manly sort. Not too much muscle, but definitely not wimpy."

"And Graham's not like that?"

"Well, he's got obvious muscle. Like, he looks like a football quarterback or something like that." Oliver sighed, shaking her head. "I hate jocks. And I can say that, being practically one myself. So I doubt anything will come from this one date."

"Then why are you going?" Willow tilted her head curiously as she sipped at her coffee.

"Just for fun. I haven't been able to really do that since classes started up."

"It's only been one day, though."

"Exactly." Oliver replied dully with half lidded eyes. "That, my friend, is way too long to go without having fun. Colleges are just way too serious for my tastes."

"I like it here." Willow smiled. "You know what I love about college? How when the professor comes in, the class gets all quiet. See, that wouldn't happen in high school."

"I hate that." Oliver frowned. "I feel like, hey? Did something evil walk into the room? Is there something for me to kill?" Willow giggled at that and Oliver had to smile. While the two had very different views, it was obvious that they were getting to be close friends. Oliver knew that she could never replace Buffy; she didn't want to. She was her own person and she wasn't the same kind of Slayer. She would never be a carbon copy of the previous Slayer. "So will you and Oz come to this party with us? Please? In case he's an ass?"

"Sure." Willow nodded with a smile. "I'm almost positive that Oz wouldn't mind. The full moon's not close yet, so we've got time for a party."

"Alright, awesome." Oliver grinned. "That means we should go get ready now then."

* * *

_"Standing in the pouring rain. You couldn't even be there to pick me up. Taking me for granted again. You're running out of time and you're out of luck." _Bif Naked happened to be the band playing at Wolf house that night and Oliver was thankful for the good taste in music. She and Willow were roaming around while Oz and Graham went to get them drinks.

"So are you happy you came?" Oliver asked Willow with a smile.

"Yeah! I mean, it's been a while since Oz and I've gone to a party that's non-Dingoes related."

Before Oliver could retort, a small group of people had run into her and Willow, causing them both to step backwards and observe the group. There stood Harmony and Spike with a guy under their arms, an obvious bite mark blaring from his neck.

"Spike!" Willow's eyes were wide while Oliver had narrowed her's, placing a hand on her friend's arm protectively. "A-and Harmony?"

"Willow. And friend. Hi." Harmony smiled at them falsely. "What a cute outfit! Last year." She remarked and Oliver raised an eyebrow at the horrible insult. That night, Oliver had chosen on a pair of tight black skinny jeans with holes in the knees, a red and black thinly striped long sleeve tee-shirt, and a flowing gray sweater thrown over it. On her feet were a pair of old Doc Martens.

"Oliver, thanks." The blonde said smartly to the vampire.

"Whatever. What kinda name is that anyways?" Harmony scowled at her, but she had already turned her attention to this "Spike" character.

He was handsome, alright. With bleach blonde hair slicked back to his skull and a pair of crystalline blue orbs, he was obviously a bad boy character. Especially with the almost all black clothing and the scar on his left eyebrow. Dimly, she wondered where he had gotten it, but she pushed on without thought.

"Well, this is interesting." And, oh, he had a British accent. Oliver's guilty pleasure was accents. "Won't the Slayer be disappointed to find you with another blondie, Red?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Harmony looked over at him. "Buffy died last summer. It's all over the underworld."

"Harm, that's a pretty important thing to forget to tell me." Spike narrowed his eyes at her.

"It slipped my mind!"

He rolled his eyes before he turned to look at Willow and Oliver once more. "So, let's have a look at the new girl."

"Oliver. Charmed, I'm sure." The Slayer was all business now. She had heard of Spike, of course. He was the vampire that was second only to Angelus. He caused chaos throughout Europe from the minute he was sired and onward. He'd killed two great Slayers in his time and she knew better than to underestimate him in any way.

"Well, I like you." Spike grinned threateningly while Oliver crossed her arms over her chest. "You've got, um... What's the word? Innocence."

"And you're with Harmony." Willow decided to speak up then fiercly and Oliver raised an eyebrow at her. She knew that she hated Harmony, but it was interesting to see _her_ take up such an attitude. "Did you lose a bet or something?"

"Hey!" Harmony cried in irritation, but went ignored.

"Actually, uh, how we met? It's, um... It's a funny story, really. It's, uh-" Spike then threw the boy he had been helping to hold up into Harmony, Willow, and Oliver, then leaped over the couch closest to them.

"Stay here." Oliver commanded Willow before she turned and raced after the peroxided vampire. She ran outside, only to pause momentarily and glance around. She took a hunch once she saw some shrubbery nearby and stalked towards it. As she did so, she slipped a well sharpened stake from a a hidden pocket on the inside of her jacket and held it at the ready. She heard a twig snap and rushed forward, throwing a punch, only for it to be blocked by Spike.

He retaliated with a back handed punch to her face. Oliver bounced back quickly enough and they both dropped into defensive stances.

Oliver giggled lightly, shaking her head. "You know, I've heard about you, Spike. William the Bloody, as you're often called. But a couple years ago, you apparently came here _whining_ about how your girlfriend dumped you. What's the matter, now, huh? Drusilla dump you again?" She snapped her fist forward, then another when he blocked the first one, but he blocked that one, too. Now that he had both of her hands in his grasp, he was confident that he had her. He wasn't counting on her head butting him in the forehead.

He grunted as he released her and stepped backwards. "Maybe I dumped her." He suggested with a frown. She scoffed and went to attack him again, but he grabbed her arms, lifted her off her feet, and shoved her to his left and behind him.

"She left him for a fungus demon." Harmony announced suddenly as Oliver spun around quickly to face them both. "That's all he talks about most days."

"Harm!" Spike snapped, turning to stride towards her. "We are going." He turned to look at the blonde Slayer who was watching him curiously. "It isn't time yet."

"Yeah, but as soon as we have the Gem of Amara, you're gonna be sor-"

"Argh!" Spike growled and tugged her away before she could reveal anymore about his plan to the Slayer.

"The Gem of Amara?" Oliver whispered to herself as she watched them leave. She knew she couldn't fight and dust them both with so many people around. With a sigh, she slipped her stake back into her pocket and pulled her cell from her pocket. She had already programmed Giles's home phone number into it earlier that week and now she was glad for it. She really needed to get the man a cell phone. "Hey, Giles? We got a situation."

"What appears to be the problem, Oliver?" Giles asked as he moved about his apartment on the other end of the phone.

"Spike's in town. With a, um...Harmony? I'm guessing you know her."

"Yes, she was a, um, former student. Is she a vampire?"

"Yeah. I fought Spike, but he was running away. I couldn't figure out why he would run from little old me when Harmony let something slip. They're looking for the...Gem of Amara?"

"The Gem of Amara, are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. What is it?"

"Uh, it's just it's so...it's not real. It's like the vampire equivalent of the Holy Grail and a source of some enormous power, which is conveniently vague." There was a pause and Oliver heard the sound of pages turning in a book. "I think-here it is. Yes. Um... "There was a great deal of vampiric interest in locating the gem during..." oh, "the tenth century. Questing vampires combed the earth, but never found it. It was concluded that it never existed.""

"Well, Spike and Harmony are looking for it." Oliver sighed, leaning against a poll as she watched people roam about, blissfully unaware of the world's demons. "They're looking in Sunnydale for some unknown reason."

"Yes, well, I'll research it as best I can." Giles assured her. "You've done all you can for tonight. Go to bed."

"Ha, alrighty, thanks, Giles." Oliver smiled. "See ya' tomorrow. Bye." She hung up without waiting for a reply and turned, walking back towards the party. She wasn't all into the partying mood anymore, but she couldn't just leave Graham hanging like this. So, she'd let him down easy and go on the slay. Preferably of the Spike and Harmony kind.

"Hey, I got worried you bailed for a second there." Graham smiled warmly as Oliver approached where he stood with Willow and Oz.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that. Old family friend. He's...not really supposed to drink so I had to chase him out." Oliver smiled convincingly at him. He nodded in understanding. "Uh, hey, I hate to do this, but-"

"You gotta bail." Graham assumed with a small nod of his head.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, it's just... I gotta go make sure that friend gets home alright." Oliver explained and he shrugged.

"Yeah, it's understandable. I got homework that I've been neglecting for the past week anyways. I'll call you?"

"It'd help if you had my number." Oliver smiled and pulled a pen from her black leather mini-satchel. She took his hand in her own and began to write down the number to her dorm's phone in largely across his forearm. "There. Now, it's written big enough that you can't blame that you couldn't read it and not call." She teased up at him and he chuckled.

"Dully noted. So I'll call you...now that I have your number."

"I'll be waiting with bated breath." She smiled before she turned to leave with Oz and Willow.

"So what happened with Spike and Harmony?" Oz questioned as they walked.

"Fought with Spike a little then Harmony let slip about this Gem of Amara. It's why they're here apparently. They ran off."

"And you're not chasing them?" Willow asked curiously.

"They're going back to their lair. I'm pretty sure they have more than a few vampires there helping them out. Not to mention, if I were to stake them before they could run off, there'd be more than one question about it from the populace." Oliver explained herself to her new friends and they both nodded in understanding.

"So?" Willow smiled as she slithered up next to the blonde. "How was Graham, huh? Think you'll date him?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Oliver shrugged. "I mean, we didn't talk at all tonight. I gave him my number, though. I still doubt that anything will happen between us. Besides, I'm putting all my energy for the next few days into finding Harmony and Spike. We can't let them get that Gem if it is real."

"Got it." Willow nodded and they all jumped as Oliver's phone began to ring.

She glanced at the ID before she smiled. "It's Giles. Hey." She answered.

"I found a text."

"Wow, no "Hi, Ollie, how you doin'? Did you get home safe?" Nope, we just jump right into business, don't we?"

"Oliver."

"Sorry, continue?"

"The text refers to the Gem of Amara as residing in the Valley of the Sun."

"What, is that demon talk for Sunnydale or something?"

"Precisely. It seems that Spike may know what it's about. The Gem may exist after all, in Sunnydale in a sealed underground crypt." Giles relayed and Oliver nodded.

"Alright, I'll tell Willow and Oz and you guys find the crypt while I work on finding Spike."

"I'll get started."

"I'll call Xander. He'll be at your place in the morning."

"Right." Giles hung up then and Oliver turned to her companions.

"Alright, so the Gem's real and Spike's close to finding it. It's in an underground crypt somewhere in Sunnydale. You guys are gonna help Giles find the crypt while I-"

"Find Spike. Yeah, we heard." Oz smiled lightly and she rolled her eyes.

"Great thing is that we get to go sleep and start in the morning." Willow said optimistically.

* * *

For the next few days were spent with Oliver going around campus with a print out picture of one Harmony Kendall. She had gotten it from the Sunnydale High sight and was asking everyone and anyone if they'd seen her lately. She had also been waiting on a call from Graham, but there were no calls. She wasn't as down about that as she would've liked. Graham was cute in a jock sort of way, but she didn't really like him as a person all that much. He was too much of a good old boy sort. She just wasn't into that. She would love to have a normal boyfriend, though. Ever since she became the Slayer, nothing in her life has been normal. She'd like to have at least one thing normal.

She was walking along campus when she noticed Graham talking with some other guys, so being the curious one that she is, she calls out to him.

"Hey, Graham!" Oliver paused in her walking and waited until he turned towards her. He observed her before he smiled and said something to his friends. He then made his way over to her.

"Hey, Oliver. What's up?"

"Well, you said you'd call. Now I'm not crazy about stalking, but when a guy says he's gonna do something..." She shook her head up at him sarcastically and they began to walk.

"I meant to call." He said quickly. "It's just... I've gotten so busy lately with homework and extra curriculars... It's hard to juggle a social life in with it."

"You didn't seem to be having trouble with it." Oliver pointed out, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb at the group of guys they were slowly leaving behind.

"They're from my Psychology class. They were just asking me some questions about the homework Professor Walsh assigned us."

"Mmhmm." They paused under some shaded trees in a less crowded area. "Um, Graham?" She asked slowly, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Did I say or do something wrong the other night?"

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Graham furrowed his brows, not understanding what she meant.

"It's just... It seems like you're trying to brush me off. Like you're lying to me? I can tell with that kind of thing. Now, if you don't wanna date me, tell me straight up. I'm a big girl, Graham. I can take it." Oliver said fiercely and he gaped at her for a moment before something over her shoulder caught his eye. The petite blonde turned to see one of the guys he had been speaking to waving at him. Now, he was cute.

"Look, I really have to go now." Graham placed his hands on her shoulders before he walked around her and towards his friend.

"Graham, I wasn't finished!" Oliver called after him.

"I'll call you!" He replied and she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, that was pathetic." A familiar voice spoke from behind her. Her eyes widened and she spun around to face him, only to get a punch right in the face.

Oliver grunted as she fell to the ground and she held her face where it throbbed in the slightest. She gaped up at where Spike stood above her in a bright beam of sunlight.

"Ain't it a fantastic day? Birds singin', squirrels makin' lots of rotten little squirrels, the sun beamin' down in a nice non-fatal way." Spike smiled as he looked up towards the sky and Oliver swallowed hard as she sat up. "It's very exciting. I can't wait to see if I freckle."

Oliver used her momentum to flip herself over, grabbing her stake from where it fell on the ground on the way up. She came up swinging, but he was prepared this time. She landed a punch to his cheek, but he dodged the next one and punched her right back. She hit the ground and he went to grab her, but Oliver pulled her legs to her chest and kicked him away from her and to the ground. She hurried up before he could; he flipped upwards and right into her stake.

She gaped at him when he didn't burst into dust. "Oh, do it again. It tickles." He taunted as she yanked the stake out of him, stepping backwards. She watched as his pale flesh knitted itself right back together. "You know, in a good way."

"You found the Gem." Oliver accused as she looked up at him, never letting her guard down.

He held up his hand, showing off the strange looking ring. "Oh, yeah. The Gem of Amara." While she was looking at the ring, he backhanded the stake out of her hand and then punched her in the face, sending her back to the ground again. "Official sponsor of my killing you." Oliver then watched as his handsome face took on the tell tale lumpies that came along with being a vampire. Then, he went in for the kill.

Oliver was quick to get on her knees, blocking each punch he threw but, he soon grabbed onto one of her arms and kicked her in the stomach. He took her winded figure to his advantage and threw it into a nearby pole. Then while she was down, he kicked her right in the chest. Oliver shook it off easily enough and tried to kick at him. He blocked it and then grabbed her arm when she tried to punch him, sending her straight back into the pole. He pressed her roughly into it from behind, but she was absolutely refusing to let the first Big Bad that she encounters get the best of her. So, she reached behind her and grabbed him by the throat, effectively choking him. She knew that he didn't need to breathe air, but the feeling of your throat closing in? Yeah, that'd hurt even a vampire.

His hold on her weakened and she was able to push him away from her. Oliver kicked him in the stomach, which sent him spinning into the ground. He flipped right back up and tried a spinning kick that she was able to block. She was then able to kick him in the shin and then with a roundhouse, then another, followed by redirecting him over a nearby stone bench. She jumped up onto another bench and tried to kick him in the chest, but he blocked her, grabbed her arm, and threw her into a metal framed table. The glass top shattered upon impact and she groaned as she rolled off of it, yanking a piece of glass from her arm.

"Getting tired, Slayer?" Spike questioned as he strolled towards her at a leisurely pace.

Oliver growled as she got to her feet once more, only to receive a series of punches and to be thrown to the concrete ground once more. Her eyes widened when she noticed Xander running out of nowhere. "Xander, no!"

Spike turned towards him, grabbed his head, kneed him in the face, and finally sent him flying into another pole. Oliver winced as she got to her feet; he had already turned his attention onto her again.

"So... Nancy boy not getting a poke at the Slayer, eh?" He rubbed a hand across his stomach as he stepped down the stairs towards her. "Didn't seem like you knew each other that well, but still you wouldn't let him have a one night stand? What exactly does it take to pry apart the Slayer's dimpled knees?"

"You're vile, Spike." Oliver cursed at him. He smirked and jumped from where he was a few steps above her into a full on roundhouse, kicking her right in the cheek.

"What? He couldn't play the sensitive lad and get you to seduce him? If he could've pulled it off, it's a good trick if the girl's thick enough to buy it."

Oliver snapped and flew at him, throwing a roundhouse. He blocked it easily and followed it up with a vicious kick that sent the petite flying into the stone stairs surrounding them.

"I wonder what went wrong." Spike thought aloud and she wiped a drop of blood that was dribbling from the corner of her mouth on her fingers. "Were you too strong? Did you ever bruise the boy?" He smirked cruelly as he again rubbed his stomach. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Guess you're not worth the effort if you don't put out on the first date." Oliver jumped up and threw another roundhouse, then three punches all in a row. Her sudden anger allowed her to do them all quickly enough that he wouldn't be able to dodge or block. She grabbed his shoulders and threw him over the edge of the closest planter. She jumped onto it and while coming down onto him, she threw her leg out to kick him in the chin, sending him flying into yet another planter. Oliver vaguely noticed as he knocked over an earthenware pot as she grabbed his collar, punched him twice in the face and then grabbed the arm that was wearing the ring.

As she wrapped her slim fingers around the shining gold, Spike quickly spoke. "Take it off me this way, we both burn!"

"Yeah?" Oliver asked angrily with a sadistic smile plastered over her lips. "Let's see how that one works out." She then yanked the ring right off of his finger and she watched in mild amusement as his face immediately contorted into vampiric pain. She released him and watched as he started to smoke, running off as he cried out in agony. She watched him go down an open sewage pipe nearby and sighed, sitting down on a planter to inspect the ring.

* * *

"I like it." Willow admitted as she observed the ring on a wooden table in Giles's apartment.

"It's small." Oz observed.

"Really worth getting my ribs bashed in." Xander complained.

"Hey!" Oliver rolled her eyes at him. "At least you didn't get basically brain fucked. Besides, I'm the one that had to get the medical attention, remember?" She held up her injured arm that was now wrapped in a thick layer of gauze. "How the hell am I supposed to explain this one to my dad?"

"I thought he knew about your slaying." Xander said curiously and she sighed, nodding her head.

"He does, but he won't let me do anything Slayer related if I come home on the weekends with multiple wounds like this! So what are we going to do with this stupid ring, Giles?" She turned her attention to the Watcher sitting next to her and he kept his eyes on the gold ring.

"It's obviously very dangerous, and we're destroying it."

Oliver pondered over that for a moment before she sighed, knowing that what she was about to do would be what the last Slayer would have wanted. "We can't destroy it, Giles."

"Well, Oliver, any vampire that gets his hand on this is going to be essentially un-killable." Oliver blinked at him with a raised eyebrow and realization dawned on him, also knowing what Buffy would have wanted. "Oh."

"I have that gig in LA." Oz offered quietly. "I could swing by."

"Yeah, that'd be great." Oliver nodded.

"What's going on?" Xander asked, confused. "What's in LA?"

"I think we should do what Buffy would have." Oliver said firmly as she looked at him across the table. "She would've given it to Angel."

"Don't make a fuss." Willow shook her head at him.

"Oliver, are you sure?" Giles questioned.

"It's what Buffy would have wanted." Oliver nodded her head. "Call it...my gift to her, even though she can't really receive it herself. She loved him, so he must deserve it." Giles nodded at this and nothing more was said about it.

* * *

Spike growled as he stalked through the town that night. He had escaped into the sewers during the day and if he knew the Scooby Gang, he knew that they'll be sending the Gem to Captain Forehead in LA. So he'll be making his way there, as well. He sighed; at least he'll be able to get away from Harmony for a few days.

He dipped his hand into his pocket as he approached his car and pulled out his keys. His eyes trailed down and watched as he was about to stick the key in. He paused, however, when he noticed a streak of almost completely dry blood along his hand where the ring hand been. In his curiosity, he pulled his hand up and sniffed the blood. He tentatively licked it and almost moaned in delight. Despite it being dry and obviously coagulated, her blood was delicious. Just as he remembered a Slayer's blood to be. She's a virgin with Type AB-. His favorite kind, but it was so rare to come upon these days. He licked his lips and gulped for a moment before he smirked and got into his car. He'd be back for more of her blood, that's for sure. He just needed to get the Gem first. He'd been meaning to visit the Poof for a while, anyways.

* * *

**Author's Note: So...yeah :3 I know, most people hate it when the OC replaces Buffy, but you know what? I'm not the biggest fan of her. I'm more of a Faith fan than Buffy. Besides, I didn't like it when Spike fell in love with Buffy. I felt that it just him made into a pansy. He won't be a pansy here. Trust me on that. So, for those of you who miss the Spike we first met when he came in the second season, there will be more of him here :3 Also, please review so I can know whether or not you guys like my story. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2 Fears

**Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Honestly, would I be here if I did?**

* * *

**Chapter 2 "Fears"**

Oliver sighed as she observed her family. Her baby brother and father with lounging on the couch, watching _It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown_ in celebration of the upcoming holiday. Halloween was her favorite holiday, but she just couldn't get into the mood as of late. This would be her first holiday since becoming the Slayer. She didn't expect much to happen, but she knew that things were really different now. The fact that her life was no longer normal was finally setting in after a month of having the abilities.

She wished that she could go back to being that innocent eighteen year old that took her little brother trick-or-treating every year and opened presents on Christmas morning with her small, but loving family. She'd love to be going out with her friends on weekends and enjoying life or even studying for a big exam coming up. She knew that she couldn't, however. She could never go back to being that girl. The only way that she'd ever get out of being the Slayer is through death. That was how it worked. One dies, the next one's called. Buffy died and Kendra was called. Buffy was brought back by Xander. Not even a year after being called, Kendra died and Faith was called. Then Buffy put Faith in a coma. Buffy died and Oliver was called. Now it was her job to protect the world. She understood that, but that didn't mean that she wanted to be the world's only hope of survival.

"Papa, I'm heading over to Xander's, now." Oliver announced quietly, at the burly man looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Now? But you love _It's the Great Pumpkin_!" George said in shock.

"I also love to hang with my friends, Papa." She replied with a small sigh.

George observed her for a moment in silence; it was rare that Oliver ever missed a chance to bond with her family. It had been a tradition ever since Tony was born fourteen years ago to watch these corny but family related movies. Oliver had gone along with it; even at a young age, she knew why her father had decided to create this tradition. When Tony was born, her mother had died in childbirth. Something to do with low-blood sugar. Even though Oliver was only five when it had happened, she could see the sorrow created in her father from the moment they found out that Mary Northman had passed. These family moments were all George could do to keep his family together as long as it had been.

"Ollie, c'mon!" Tony called with a happy, metal filled grin. The teen had the misfortune of needing braces, while his sister had been graced with perfectly straight teeth; something Oliver never let him forget. "It's just getting to the good part!"

"I promised I'd be there. Besides, I have to check in with Giles about the whole Halloween mojo goin' on." Oliver shook her head with her arms crossed over her chest.

George sighed and nodded his head. "If you're sure. But we're still on for making our costumes tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Oliver nodded her head as she pulled on her gray cardigan over her gray tank top. The blonde had also chosen to wore a pair of gray skinny jeans with a pair of gray strappy Stilletos. She had a pair of gold studs in her ears and a gold band on her right middle finger. As she stepped towards the front door, she placed her dark gray straw fedora on her head.

"Oliver." George appeared behind her before she could escape and she sighed, slowly turning to face him. "What's wrong, hun? You never miss this."

"It's just... I'm not into the Halloween mood this year, Papa."

"But that never happens. Honey, you once told me when you were younger that you wished that Halloween came-"

"More than once a year. I know, Papa." Oliver nodded her head and fiddled with the ring on her finger absentmindedly. "But sometimes even your favorite holiday could bring down your mood. Don't worry, I'll be here tomorrow. Now, I gotta go."

George frowned, but nodded his head as he pulled his eldest child into his arms for a loving hug. Oliver couldn't help but to smile; her father was certainly a burly and intimidating man, but he was really a big teddybear underneath it all. She loved that about him.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Papa." Oliver hopped and placed a kiss on his cheek before she turned and was out the door.

* * *

"I don't know." Xander frowned as he observed his masterpiece before him. "I was going for ferocious-scary, but it's coming out more dryly sardonic." He motioned towards his nearly completed jack-o-lantern. He, Willow, and Oz were over-looking his work critically while Oliver was laying on her stomach on Xander's bed. They were all sitting in Xander's basement for the get together that evening.

"It does appear to be mocking you with its eyeholes." Willow commented.

"Yet its nosehole seems sad and full of self-loathing." Oz added with a nod of his head.

"Ollie? What do you think?" Xander questioned as he turned his pumpkin to face the distracted Slayer.

Oliver had busied herself with the bowl of pumpkin guts and seeds. Her fingers were slick with the juices, but she didn't seem to mind. After all, as a Slayer, she had to get her hands dirty a majority of the time. It didn't necessarily bother her anymore. "The life of a pumpkin is sad, but strange." She frowned with furrowed brows. Willow and Xander exchanged raised eyebrows at the random comment, but they let her continue anyways in their own curiosity. "They grow in the sun like happy little orange oompa-loompas, going about their lives with a lot of other pumpkins, you know? Then one day, some random person comes along, cuts them away from their friends and family, and tells it that it has to become something that it isn't. Then somebody rips its guts out and it rots away." She said ominously as she held up a particularily squishy pumpkin gut in her fist.

"Okay..." Xander smiled nervously as he spun his candle back to face him. "...and on that happy note, got a treat for tomorrow night's second annual Halloween screening, which Ollie's never actually been to." He stood and strode towards the work table, where his blue backpack was placed. "People, prepare to have your spines tingled and your gooses bumped by the terrifying..._Fantasia. Fantasia_?" He pulled a video tape out and frowned at the table.

"Maybe it's because of all the horrific things we've seen, but hippos wearning tutus just don't unnerve me the way they used to." Oz remarked smartly.

"They are terryfing, though." Oliver admitted sarcastically with a straight face.

"_Phantasm._" Xander stated as he sat back down with a frown. "It was supposed to be _Phantasm._ Stupid video store."

"I thought we were doing the Alpha Delt thing." Willow remarked curiously, looking over toward Oliver.

"What...thing?" Xander asked slowly.

"The haunted house thing?" Oliver asked with raised eyebrows. Normally, she would've been all for a haunted house, but this year was different. She just wasn't into it this year. She couldn't understand it herself, in all honesty. "It sounds almost too predictable."

"It actually borders on fun." Oz announced. He hadn't really been with the group last year, so he'd gone to the haunted house with his band. "You have to go through the whole scary house maze to get to the party, which is usually worth getting to. Those guys go all out."

"As witnessed last Friday." Willow grinned and Oliver smiled slightly, nodding her head.

"I think I'm still feeling the effects from that one."

"Very true." Oz nodded at her statement.

"There's a party?" Xander was obviously still confused.

"We didn't tell you?" Willow asked him with a frown.

"No, it's cool." Xander shrugged, obviously lying through his teeth. Even Oliver saw that and she didn't know him as well as the others did. "You guys got your little college thing. I'm fine. I mean, I got better things to do than tag along to some fraternity."

"You can come." Willow offered simply.

"'Kay." Xander replied immediately and Oliver snorted in amusement at his antics. "But only because I lied about having better things to do."

"Laughs will be had by all." Oz assured as Oliver sighed and rolled off the bed.

"I think I'm gonna get going on patrol." She stated as she pulled her cardigan on again.

"Now? The night's still..." Xander quickly checked his watch and frowned slightly, but carried on. "Well, okay, it's a little mature, but still-"

"I'm just tired, guys." The blonde interrupted and even Oz frowned up at her. They hadn't known each other that long, but the werewolf had to say that he was worried for the Slayer. She didn't seem to be transitioning quite as well as she wanted them to believe she was into this new world. "But don't let my leaving bring your little party down."

"You want me to come with?" Willow asked worriedly as Oliver made her way to the stairs.

"Nah, I'll be fine on my own, Will." She smiled lightly and waved. "I'll see ya' at the dorm later. Bye, Xander. See ya', Oz." She called and with that, the Slayer was out the door and gone from their sight.

Xander tisked quietly with a shake of his head. "Sad Ollie..."

"She didn't even touch her pumpkin." Willow remarked as she eyed the still intact "oompa-loompa". "It's a freak with no face."

"She still suffering a little "I'm the Slayer now" depression?" Oz asked.

"It's not her fault." Willow defended. "I think the fact that nothing's ever gonna be different's finally settling in. She can't just be her anymore and she's starting to realize it."

"I gotta say, I feel kinda bad for her." Xander admitted with a sigh. "Does anyone else wanna smack the Council?" They all raised their hands; they knew that even if Oliver hadn't been called, another poor innocent girl would've been called in her place, but they didn't wish it on anyone. It was a horribly way of life and they all had experienced it with Buffy before and now with Oliver. They wouldn't wish it on their worst of enemies. Well, maybe Spike.

* * *

The next day was spent mostly at the college. It was Halloween, but it was still a school day, and since Halloween wasn't actually considered a holiday to the school board, classes were had by all. It was lunch time now, and Oliver and Willow were heading to the Rocket Cafe to meet up with Oz.

"I've got the basics down: levitation, charms, glamours. I just feel like I've plateaued Wicca-wise." Willow confided as the two young college goers got in line.

"Well, what's the next step, learning wise?" Oliver asked curiously, picking up a packaged turkey sandwich.

"Transmutation, conjuring, bringing forth something from nothing." Willow smiled excitedly at the very thought. "Gets you pretty close to the primal forces. A little scary." The witch shrugged at her admittance and Oliver frowned.

"Hey, if it's dangerous, maybe you shouldn't do it." Oliver suggested as her redheaded friend picked up a fruit salad and she, herself, grabbed an apple.

"Don't do it? What kind of encouragement is that?"

"Wait, this is a pep talk?" Oliver asked with wide blue eyes. "Oops, sorry. I thought you were telling me about a fear you had and wanted a reason not to do it."

Willow sighed with a shake of her head, picking up a banana. "I don't know. Then again, what is college for if not experimenting? You know, maybe I can handle it. I'll know when I've reached my limit."

"Wine coolers?" Oz asked as he approached them from behind, catching the tail end of their conversation.

"More on the mystical side of addictions." Oliver smiled at him and he frowned, pondering her words.

"Ooh. Didn't encourage her, did you?" The werewolf asked as his girlfriend paid for her lunch.

"Where's supportive boyfriend guy?" Willow asked with a raised eyebrow and Oliver watched them interact with a small smile. She had thought from the minute she met the two that they were the cutest couple ever. Willow with her wall-flowery ways and Oz with his band and cool attitude. It was simply adorable and she couldn't ever see them breaking up.

"Oh, he's picking up your dry cleaning." Oz exchanged a small smile with the blonde Slayer. "But he told me tell you that he's afraid you're gonna get hurt."

"Okay, Brutus." Willow smiled giddily and got blank stares in return. She frowned. "Brutus. Uh, Caesar?" Oz continued to frown as he again looked towards the Slayer. They were becoming close friends fast and that was clear to everyone. They shared a love for Willow (although one was platonic and the other romantic) and were both worried over her. Not to mention, both their lives had been changed within a single moment. Oz had been changed the moment his cousin bit his finger and the same went for Oliver when Buffy passed on the Slayer line. "Betrayal...trusted friend. Back-stabby?" Willow made her point by making the stabbing motion with her banana.

"Oh, I'm with you on the reference, but I won't lie about the fact that I worry." Oz commented sweetly and both Willow and Oliver had to smile slightly at him. "I know what it's like to have power you can't control. And every time I start to wolf out, I touch something...deep...dark. It's not fun." Oz shared a frown with a serious Willow before he shook his head. "But just know that whatever you decide, I'll back your play."

Oliver smiled as Oz leaned in and kissed her temple gently. "Well, at least he's sweet when he's concerned and not at all controlling."

"I know." Willow grinned at her as Oz pulled back. "I kinda like him worrying, anyway."

Laughter suddenly errupted from the other side of the room and they all turned to look, only to see the Three Stooges, as Oliver liked to call them. The Stooges consisted of Graham Miller, Riley Finn (who had been the one to call Graham away just before Spike attacked Oliver last week. He also happened to be the TA of Oliver, Willow, and Oz's psychology class.), and Forrest Gates.

With a sigh, Oliver shook her head and paid for her lunch. "And once again, obnoxious-ness begins to ruin my appetite."

"Oliver, don't let jerky Graham chase you away." Willow frowned.

"He's not." Oliver shook her head. "I'm coping with the fact that he's an ass that led me on. It's no big deal, really. In all honesty, though, if he talks to me again, I can't be held accountable for my actions."

Willow smiled at that and nodded her head. "You know what, you'll feel better at the party tonight. Maybe you'll even meet someone." She suggested brightly as they waited for Oz to gather his own food.

"Unless it's a someone with fangs and a facial skin condition, it's doubtful." Oliver quipped. "I was planning on patrolling tonight."

"Tonight? But it's Halloween." Willow furrowed her brows.

"I'm still not totally convinced that monsters aren't gonna come out to play on the one night that people run around outside _in the open_ like chickens with their heads cut off." The Slayer shook her head at the concept. "_Especially_ after what you told me happened on the last few Halloweens. Besides, I doubt Giles really cares about whether or not anyone has a good time on Halloween."

* * *

"Happy Hal-" Giles stopped himself once he saw that it was Oliver standing on the other side of the door with wide eyes. There stood her Watcher, her mentor, the man that was quickly becoming her father away from home. In a sombrero and pancho get up. "Hello, Oliver."

"Holy sausage in a pogo stick factory..." The blonde muttered to herself as she let her eyes run over his appearance in shock.

"It's a sombrero." Giles informed needlessly.

"Why is it a sombrero?"

"It seemed festive." The Watcher commented as he looked up at the hat. "Come in." He waved her in and held the giant bowl of sugary niblets that he held in his hand out to his Slayer. "Candy?"

Oliver grabbed a Kit-Kat without even thinking anything of it as she looked around the house. Small Halloween decorations were scattered throughout the room, including a Frankenstein hanging from the ceiling. "You're celebrating Halloween? I thought you of all people would hate Halloween."

"I...I've never said any such thing." Giles frowned as he placed the candy down on his desk. "As my Watcher's duties took precedence, I simply hadn't taken time to...well, to embrace its inherent charms. Until now. Look, look." He grinned excitedly as he pressed a button on the back of the Frankenstein. It lit up and began to move its arms and legs around. "It's alive!" He giggled as his Slayer observed him quietly. "You see? See how he..." He paused as he noticed her silence. "...shakes?"

Oliver stared up at him for a moment in silence and slowly shook her head. "I never really realized just how British you are until I heard you saying all that in a Mexican poncho."

"Is there something you wanted?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted me to patrol tonight." Oliver replied with a small shake of her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, the cemetaries in town or even around campus, but... Could you please remove the large, Mexican hat from your head?"

"Oh, yes, of course." The Watcher quickly removed the sombrero, but kept the poncho on. "I see. Is there some specific danger you were sensing?"

"Nah, I just find it hard to believe that monsters don't wanna take tonight as an opportunity to snack on the populace." Oliver sighed. "And besides, Willow and Xander told me about how Ethan Rayne turned everyone into their costumes a couple years back."

"True, but what happened then was anomalous. Creatures of the night shy away from Halloween. They find it all much too crass."

"It's a wonder why. You know, what with those new movies out, like Twilight?" Oliver raised her eyebrows at her non-worrisome Watcher.

"Uh, well, I promise you there's little likelihood of any supernatural activity tonight." He brushed her worries away easily and Oliver nodded with a sigh.

"Well, I'll have my phone on me, just in case. I might as well head on over to my dad's. He wants us to make our costumes together this year." The blonde placed her hands on her hips.

"I wish you the best of luck. If anything happens, I'll call. I doubt anything will happen, however. Have a good night."

"Mmhmm, filled to the brim with scares and terrified giggles." Oliver guaranteed with a small grin as she walked out the still front door. "Thanks for the Kit-Kat!"

* * *

Oliver bit her bottom lip as she walked into her psychology class, pausing as several students left the room. She had missed the class in favor of going to talk to Giles and she knew for certain that Professor Walsh would not be pleased with her.

"Um, Professor Walsh?" The blonde spoke up nervously and gulped when her professor turned her icy blue eyes onto her expectantly. "I just came to get the assignments from today. I missed today's class on personal reasons."

"Right." Professor Walsh observed her for a moment as Riley began to gather the assignments. "I count four limbs, a head... No visible scarring. So I assume your personal issue wasn't a life-threatening accident of any kind and I'm therefore uninterested. You've got problems, solve them on your own time. Miss another class and you're out." The cold teacher picked up her brief case and was out the door before Oliver could even come up with a retort.

Riley watched her for a split second before he sighed. "She means it, you know."

Oliver smiled as she stepped forwards, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "Yeah, I got that. I mean, why else would she say it other than to make me feel like a complete loser?"

"You gotta be aware your work's taken a little downturn lately." Riley frowned at the concept. "I can't remember the last time I saw your hand up. Or your head."

"I have been taking a bit too many naps in here, haven't I?" Oliver mumbled sheepishly.

"Look, things get pretty intense freshman year, as I dimly recall." The graduate student smiled charmingly and Oliver had to smile in return. She may not usually go for his type, but he certainly was adorable at times. "Too much fun or not enough?"

"Not enough." Oliver grinned with a shake of her head. "Nah, I've just been a bit preoccupied with some stuff."

"Yeah, well, you just gotta keep your priorities." He suggested as he held out a stack of papers to her. "Professor Walsh is worth your time."

"Thanks for the advice and the homework. I'll get it done tonight."

"Tonight? It's Halloween."

"Why does everyone keep telling me what day it is?" Oliver asked rehtorically with a small smirk on her face. Was it so unbelievable that she wasn't in the Halloween mood?

"What, you're not gonna dress up and go party?"

"I might. It just depends, I guess." She shrugged.

"I may be out of line here..." Riley paused as he took a seat on the desk, again smiling charmingly at her. "And it's really none of my business, but you seem like the kind of person who makes things really hard on themselves."

"Which is funny, 'cause I'm usually not." Oliver sighed, toying with the edge of her homework distractedly.

"Halloween isn't a night for responisibility. It's when the ghosts and goblins come out."

"That's apparently not as true as you'd think it'd be." She smiled.

"Well, I didn't mean real ones." He remarked and Oliver grinned, glancing down at her hands momentarily. "But, hey, there is some good, scary fun to be had on campus tonight."

"Alright, Mr. Gung-Ho-Halloween-Guy, what are you getting up to tonight?"

"Well, I am gonna sit here and grade papers." He stood and went around to sit at the desk, so Oliver took that as her cue to make her way out of the room.

"Sounds trully terrifying."

"Very."

"Anyways." Oliver turned to face him with a little smirk. "I gotta say that this little pep talk has certainly motivated me to make a fool of myself tonight."

"Don't make fun." Riley faked a serious look and Oliver snorted lightly as she tried to hold back her laughter. "I worked long and hard to get this pompous."

"All joking aside, I mean it. Thanks." She was serious, too. She had figured him to be just as jerky as Graham, considering that they were friends, but he seemed to be totally different. He was sweet in a boy next door kinda way and it was refreshing. You don't meet many guys like that in college, as she was coming to realize.

"You're welcome." He smiled lightly and she returned it before she turned and walked out of the room and out of his sight.

* * *

"There. How does that look?" Oliver asked as she pulled a piece of her costume from the sewing machine. George smiled at it from over her shoulder while Tony was in the bathroom, busily applying his zombie make up. "Ah, man. That's a nostalgia face, I see." Oliver remarked as she observed her father. He sighed as he sat next to her at the dining room table, where the small family had set up their supplies in order to make their costumes. Tony was, of course, going as a zombie while George was going as the Wolf Man.

"Sorry. I'm just thinking about that little girl who always wanted to be the scary part of Halloween." He smiled gently at her, reaching out to brush her hair out of her face and behind her ear. "You never wanted to be a fairy or a princess. It was always a vampire or a werewolf or even a wicked witch. You've always been my fierce little girl. It's why I wasn't really all that surprised when you told me you were the Slayer."

Oliver giggled lightly with a shake of her head. "I dunno. Maybe I'm not really cut out to be the Slayer. I mean, nothing's ever gonna be the same again. I doubt I'll even get to be with you and Tony on Christmas or even Thanksgiving next month."

"Actually, speaking of Thanksgiving, I've got to go out of town that week." George said regretfully and Oliver furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What? Why?"

"Well, my boss wants me to visit the main branch in LA that week and I can't bail out." He sighed heavily, seeing his daughter's disappointed face. "I'll be leaving the week before that, so I'll just take Tony with me. That way, you won't have to worry about taking him to and from school while you're in your classes at the college."

Oliver sighed and nodded. "Alright, I understand, boss man. Well, maybe I can convince Giles to have a proper American Thanksgiving, then."

"Isn't he British?" George questioned as he stood, moving around the table to gather up the rest of his daughter's costume.

"Yeah, but now that he lives in America, he needs to rough it with the Americans like the pilgrims did." She stated and had to grin when her little brother ran into the room with a tube of fake blood in his hand.

"Ollie, can you help me get the blood right?" Tony asked with a sigh. He had already put the white make-up on his face and applied the fake scars. He was going for a Warm Bodies version of the zombie and Oliver figured he was mostly basing it off of their favorite character, R.

"Sure, sure, little man." Oliver grinned as she stood and followed her little brother into the bathroom down the hall.

* * *

That night, Oliver stood alone on the sidewalk, observing the excited young adults running around all around her. She was waiting for the others, as she had been the first one to get there. She had phoned Willow earlier when she went to her father's house, so they knew that she would be joining them at the party that night. You could say that Riley had certainly done a terrific job on convincing her to go.

"Hey, Leif Erikson." A familiar voice greeted over her shoulder and she quickly turned to see Xander dressed in a smart tux. "What ya' got there?" He pointed to her hand, where she was holding a long metal poll, slightly behind her back.

"An ax." She held it up for him to see and he blanked at the sight of a real ax that conveniently went with her costume. That Halloween, Oliver had decided to honor her family's history by dressing up as a Viking warrior princess. So, she wore a tan thigh length dress with brown leather bindings and gray fur accents. She also had the same color fur on her shoulders, arms (working as gloves), helmet, and over her tan ankle boots. With the blonde hair and basic Nordic features, she truly looked like a Viking.

"Oh." Xander was slightly speechless.

"You know, in case something does happen? Nice tux, by the way." She remarked as they slowly began to walk along.

"Bond. James Bond." He told her then went into explaining the costume. "Insurance. In case we get turned into our costumes again, I'm goin' for a cool secret agent guy."

"Knowing your bad luck, Xand, you'll probably end up a cool head waiter."

"As long as I'm cool and wield some kind of power." That was when they came upon Willow and Oz. Willow was dressed head to toe in gray armor and Oz was just in his normal clothing.

"Ah, it's my best friend joining me in being medieval." Oliver grinned at her friend's appearance.

"Hail, ye olde...varletty...thou." Xander struggled to quip and it just made Oliver and Willow giggle lightly at him.

"I'm Joan of Arc. I figured we had a lot in common, seeing as how I was almost burned at the stake and plus, she had that close relationship with God."

"Aren't you Jewish?" Oliver asked with furrowed brows.

"Mmhmm." Willow nodded, still smiling.

"And you are?" Xander asked Oz. The werewolf merely smirked as he pulled his brown jacket aside and showed them a "Hello, my name is" sticker with "GOD" written on it in big, bold, black letters. "Of course." Xander commented as Oliver giggled lightly, shaking her head while they began to walk towards the Alpha Delt house. "I wish I'd thought of that before I put down my deposit. I could've been God."

"Blasphemer." Oz accused smartly and Oliver had to smile at her friends' actions. She loved how these simple moments could make her day. These three were quickly becoming her closest friends and she doubted anything could really change that.

They were approaching a large hedge when three college students dressed head to toe in camoflage stepped out. One paused momentarily and observed the four of them critically before he moved on.

"I like your costumes!" Oliver called out before she turned to face her friends. "It's kinda ninja meets G.I. Joe, don't you think?"

"What are they supposed to be?" Willow asked, also wondering what their costumes were.

"NATO?" Oz questioned with furrowed brows. Willow nodded, deciding that could be possible. They carried on and Xander clapped his hands together in remembrance.

"Oh, yeah. I invited Anya to join us, but she's having some trouble finding a scary costume, so she's just gonna meet us there."

"I thought you were gonna be my date." Oliver pouted falsely up at him. "You know, so we can be third wheels together?"

"You're not a third wheel." Willow stated.

"Well, technically speaking, you're a fifth wheel." And Oliver gaped at him in slight anger. Willow scoffed and pushed him back so that she could walk with the blonde Viking instead.

Wrapping an arm around her with a smile, Willow began to cheer her up. "We're gonna have the best time."

"Really? 'Cause if you're wrong, I can guarantee that I will be writing a letter to God back there in complain of his Joan of Arc girlfriend." Oliver commented with a raised eyebrow.

Ten minutes later, the group was walking up the stairs of the Alpha Delt house with Oz in the lead and Oliver bringing up the rear with Xander. Placed strategically in front of the door was a place mat that stated "Hell Come".

"Well, that's inventive." Oliver said with a small smile, gesturing towards it with her ax.

"Let the horrors begin." Oz grinned at them before he did the honor of leading them into the haunted house. All was quiet, except for the spooky sound effects. Oliver furrowed her brows in slight confusion. Usually at these haunted houses, you could hear people stomping around and screaming girls, but there was barely a squeak on the old wood from footsteps.

"The joint's not jumpin'." Xander spoke aloud Oliver's own thoughts. "Where is everybody?"

"Follow the signs." Oz gestured to the large detour sign before he began to lead the way.

"This is kinda reminding me of some Scooby Doo knock off." Oliver stated as she observed the fake dead head placed in a fruit bowl under the detour sign. She then followed after the boys with Willow, who was smiling at all the fairly well placed decorations. She was still doing so when she walked directly into one.

"Ew! Aah! Cobweb!" She cried and Oliver smiled as she assisted her friend in escaping from the sticky, white webs. "Okay, that part was realistic."

"Well, frat boys aren't too obsessive with their cleaning. Might not be decoration, per se." Oz replied blandly.

Suddenly, a plastic skeleton jumped out at Xander and stabbed at him with a fake knife. He screamed like a woman and held a hand to his chest in shock while Oliver laughed lightly at his expense.

"I wasn't scared. I was in the spirit." The tuxedo wearing male claimed and Willow smirked.

"And we'll back ya' up on that, even if they question us separately." She snarked and Oz smiled at her before it dropped and he rushed towards her after spotting a large, hairy tarantula on her shoulder. "Ah! Ew! Get it off!" She squeaked out as Oz swatted it off her shoulder and Oliver watched the floor, making sure it ran in the opposite direction as them. She liked spiders, all right, but she knew that Willow wasn't the biggest of fans of them.

"It's gone." Oz told her once he had checked to make sure there were no more spiders crawling on his girlfriend.

"Okay, that is _not_ sanitary." Willow scowled as she turned to face Oliver.

The blonde frowned in slight confusion before she shook her head. "Maybe we should hurry up to get to the party."

"Yeah... Are you sure it's off me?" Willow questioned Oz quietly and he nodded as he wrapped an arm around her and led her along.

"Yeah."

They walked along the halls for a few more minutes before they came to a small room that led to three other hallways.

Oz furrowed his brows in confusion while something on the floor caught Oliver's eye. "I thought this led to..."

"What is it?" Xander asked Oliver as she ran her fingers along a large, dark red stain in the carpet. It was still wet, so when Oliver pulled her hand away, it came away with sticky dark red.

"I may not be a vampire, but I know when to identify real blood. And I doubt it's of animal kind either." The blonde stated as she sniffed at it lightly.

"Okay, actual creeps have been given. Bravo, frat boys!" Xander called out as Oliver wiped her dirty fingers on the cleaner part of the carpet and stood straight.

"Hey, wait, does anyone else hear that?" Oliver shushed him as she detected a squeaking sound coming from somewhere around them. She doubted it was coming from the sound system, either. "Kinda like mice or something like that?"

"Oh, it's these rented shoes. Patent leather. I asked the guy to break-"

"No, no, wait. It's something else. I hear it, too." Willow stopped him before he could continue. Oliver was checking the ground for any mice. Why wouldn't they be there? They had already found a live spider. "Something like..." She trailed off as they all slowly looked upwards. Hanging only five feet above their heads is a large cluster of bats. There was a single moment of silence before the pack of bats descended with high-pitched squeaks. Each of the young old adults ducked for cover against the flying rodents, but only Oliver was truly violated by them. One flew straight into her hat and fell to the ground at her feet while the rest made a break for it down the hall and away from them.

Oz frowned curiously as he looked down at the fallen bat, reaching down towards it.

"Oz, don't. It might be-"

"Rubber." Oz cut Willow off as he stood straight with the obviously fake bat in hand. "It's made of rubber." He declared surely as they all shared a peculiar look.

"Alright, I'm right in asking the same old question that anyone asks when living on the Hellmouth, right? What the hell is going on here?" Oliver questioned firmly, not even pausing when the others just looked at her and continued on with her angry curiosity.

"Look, maybe it's nothing." Xander replied quickly. "Maybe it's just a neat trick. Something done with wires or-"

While the spooky sound effects were still playing, a new booming voice bellowed, "Reeleeease meee!" The five young adults froze as they looked around and then at each other before Xander spoke up once more.

"Or it might be something else."

"Alright, let's get out of here and go see Giles." Oliver decided and the others were quick to agree, so they doubled back the direction they had come from.

When they got there, there was no staircase. It had been replaced by a wall and they all seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Xander, being the ever predictable, decided to point out the obvious to everyone.

"Where's the stairs?"

"Where's the door?" Willow added in an even more fretful voice than her childhood friend had.

"We did come in this way, am I wrong? I mean, we didn't get turned around or anything?" Oliver asked in confusion, spinning around to look in the direction they had just come from. The spooky sound effects suddenly went dead to everyone's relief and Oliver sighed thankfully. "Thank God." She turned to see that Oz now stood on a chair by the speaker. The wires were now torn out.

"You're welcome." He said to add to the irony, but everyone was too cautious to find it too funny.

"Hey, I have a neat idea." Willow suggested nervously. "Let's get out of here."

"I thought you were the one that was pushing us into coming in the first place." Oliver snarked with a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm serious, Oliver." Willow sighed. "We don't know what we're dealing with."

Oliver rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "Honestly, I don't care what we're dealing with at the moment. Once I find it, I'll get a pretty good idea what it..." She paused and furrowed her brows at a faint hissing noise that was coming from further down the hall. "Does anybody else hear that?" The others paused and started to also listen in as Oliver made her way down the hall. "It sounds kinda..."sss"...like a snake?" She followed the sound all the way to a closed door. The others came to stand behind her as she reached forward and pulled the door open, only to reveal...

Oz's friend, Chaz cowering in a fetal position. Oliver frowned as he rocked back and forth, speaking unintelligibly. "I'm s-sorry, I d-didn't know...didn't know, I'm s-sorry..."

"Chaz..." Oz frowned at the sight of his large, frat boy friend cowering in a corner. It seemed a bit strange to the smaller werewolf. "What's happening?"

"It..." He couldn't seem to get it out on his own.

"What 'it'?" Oliver asked impatiently. She had told everyone that something bad was going to happen that night and did anybody listen? No. Now, they were stuck in an actual _haunted_ house with next to no weapons. All Oliver had was her ax and a knife shoved into the side of her boot. Hardly enough to do that much damage.

"It's alive..." Chaz replied, but didn't necessarily answer the blonde Slayer's question.

"Chaz, I need you to focus here." Oliver muttered as she leaned slightly down towards him. "What is alive? What's happening here?" They waited a moment as he continued to mutter under his breath without answering her. With a sigh, Oliver stood straight once more. "He's in shock; we need to get him out of here."

Suddenly, a living, rotting skeleton appeared right behind the blonde and stabbed at her with an actual kitchen knife. Oliver cried out in shock and pain upon impact.

"Oliver!" Willow called with wide eyes.

Oliver turned quickly when it removed the knife and went for another stab. She was too fast for him and slammed the heel of her hand straight into its boney face. It staggered back on unsteady feet, so she took the opportunity to kick at it viciously in the face, sending it backwards into a heap. They all paused in shock as it landed as the same crappy plastic skeleton they had encountered in the hall earlier.

Oliver grunted as she reached behind her to have a feel of the wound. Oz moved forward to examine the cut on her back, so she made it easier on him by removing her horned helmet. She set it down along with her ax on a table nearby and leaned on it as the werewolf behind her looked over her wound. "I think all the fur took most of the hit." She sighed, looking at him and Willow over her shoulder.

"Could need stitches." Oz replied worriedly. Well, worriedly for Oz, anyways. His brows were slightly furrowed and slight aggravation at the sight before him. The wound on Oliver's left shoulder was deep. Oz could clearly see into the wound and a lesser man would've flinched at the sight of the split flesh. "We need a bandage or something."

A blood curdling scream erupted throughout the house before Oliver could reply. They all looked around, but they couldn't pinpoint the direction that the screaming was coming from. In the closet, Chaz quickly stood and shut himself back inside, causing them all to turn at the slam.

"Cowering in the closet is starting to seem like a reasonable plan." Oz stated as Oliver handed him a piece of cloth that had been wrapped around the handle of her ax. As he began to wrap the wound on her shoulder, she turned to look at the closet.

She sighed and furrowed her brows at the sight of just a wall where the door was. "Not such a great idea when there is no closet." She reported and waited silently as they all glanced over at where the door used to be. When Oz was finished wrapping her wound, Oliver picked up her ax and started to unwrap the brown cloth wrapped around the blade for safety reasons. "Alright, I'm gonna make my way up the stairs. See if I can't find anyone else hiding away in some closet. I need you guys to find the exit and get out before you get hurt, too. Find Giles and-"

"You're telling us to run away?" Willow asked in shock. Oliver just turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "And leave you behind?"

"Okay, we definitely need some help here. I didn't bring many weapons with me and we have no idea what we're fighting. We need Giles. Only he can tell us what's happening."

"No!" Willow retorted with angry, furrowed brows. "We're not leaving you here by yourself! I can do a spell to-"

"Willow, I'm telling you that-"

"_Telling _me? You're **telling **me?" Willow exploded.

"Will, I can't work right if I have to look after you guys."

"It's not your decision-"

"I'm sorry, but I've gotta disagree with you."

"Of _course_ you do!" Willow said as she glared down at the shorter Slayer. "Being the Slayer doesn't automatically make you boss. You're as lost as the rest of us-"

"So what are we talking about?" Oz asked Willow, effectively cutting off a rant that was no doubt coming from the redhead.

With a sigh, Willow turned to face her boyfriend. "It's a simple incantation. A guiding spell. For travelers when they become lost or disoriented."

"Mmhmm, sounds great so far." Oliver frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. "How does the spell work again, Will?"

Willow hesitated to answer; she knew that she'd never tried the spell before and that it might not go the way she wanted it to. "It conjures an emissary from the beyond that...lights the way."

"Wait, conjuring?" Oliver furrowed her brows. She remembered their talk earlier about how conjuring was the next step in Wicca. "You've never done that, though. Besides, I've seen you do spells before and they don't always turn out right."

"Oh, yeah?!" Willow was now definitely livid, despite knowing that what the blonde said was true. "Well, neither does your face!" She spun around and began to storm down the long hall, tearing off the plates and armor from her costume. Oliver narrowed her eyes and followed after her with Oz right behind her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

Willow spun around to face her angrily. "I'm not your sidekick." She remarked before she continued on.

"Will, hang on." Oz called, going after her. Oliver growled to herself as she watched them go for a moment. She knew this would happen! Did anybody listen, though? _No_, everyone had to keep saying that tonight's Halloween and monster's find it all too crass and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, well, you know what?! Monster's obviously don't find it all too crass!

Oliver frowned slightly as she remembered something. Or someone. Where was Xander? She turned around and looked down the hall but she didn't see him anywhere. "Xander?! Xander, where are you?" She waited for a reply, but when she didn't receive one, she rolled her eyes and began to walk down the hallway once more. "This has got to be the most typical Xander thing he's ever done. Xander?!"

Oliver trailed throughout the house; it was becoming more and more like a maze and less like a house by the minute, but Oliver continued looking. She was not only looking for her missing friends, but also the people that were no doubt trapped in the house. She had only been looking for a few minutes when a sudden scream erupted from the room down the hall. Oliver's eyes widened as she processed the sound. "Willow?!" She cried out upon realization and was answered with another scream from her redheaded friend. She sprinted towards the door to the room it was coming from. Without a second thought, she slammed the door open and...came out at the top of a staircase that was no longer there. The momentum that came from her running caused her to tip forward and fall straight onto the ground below hard. Her ax had slipped from her fingers and rolled a few feet away from her.

Winded, Oliver gasped as she rolled onto her side to overlook her surroundings. Directly beside her was a plastic novelty gravestone that read "I.M. DEDD, R.I.P." With a roll of her eyes, Oliver turned onto her back and looked around at the dimly lit room, surrounded by four concrete walls. There were other various faux headstones with various gag inscriptions, such as, "HERE LIES ROD. N. CORPSE," and "DEACON POSING, DIED WHILE DOZING," and other things like that.

"I can only guess this is a basement." She sighed and took that moment to catch her breath. Her shoulder was aching and she could already feel the dried blood itching away at her skin. Infection was starting to set into the wound and she knew that Oz's makeshift bandage wouldn't be holding up for much longer. They all needed to get out of that house, and soon.

"Powerless." A raspy voice suddenly claimed from the shadows. Oliver quickly became alert and ignored her pain, sitting up on her elbows to glare into the shadowed area around her.

"Who the hell's there?"

A man that Oliver recognized as another friend of Oz, Josh, stepped shakily out of the shadows with his head tilted at an unpleasant angle. He was pale from death and a large bruise covered his neck from where it had obviously snapped. He smirked as he spoke to her. "You were never meant to have these powers, these abilities. I mean, let's face it. You're not that great of a Slayer to begin with." He chuckled in that same rasping tone. Oliver narrowed her eyes at him; she knew it was true and it stung. "But don't fret, little girl. You don't have to be the Slayer..." With perfect timing, a group of hands shot up out of the ground all around Oliver and made a grab for her. "...anymore." Oliver barely had time to even flinch before the hands descended upon her, dinning her down. The owners of the hands pulled themselves out of their "graves". Oliver struggled against the zombies, trying to get up, but she couldn't manage to break herself free.

Oliver grunted in frustration and terror. In her month of duty as the Slayer, she'd never felt this much fear. All five of the zombies were out of their graves now and they were each piling on top of her. She winced as they pulled at her limbs and attempted to bite at her. Finally, she'd had enough and she quickly punched and kicked them off of her, flipping herself onto her feet.

"No matter how hard you fight, you just end up in the same place." Josh claimed ominously, but Oliver tried to ignore them. The zombies were coming right back for more and she was tiring quickly. "I don't see why you bother." The zombies managed to knock Oliver down. She pants for breath and glanced around her; she knew that there was no way she could fight this many zombies on her own. Escape was her only choice at this point. Oliver's eyes locked onto a small door in the dark under the entrance. She made a quick army crawl straight for the door with zombies grabbing at her heels. The space around her seemed to get more cramped and darker as she gets closer, but she soon made it. She tried to open the door, but it resisted, so she threw her full weight into it and...

Fell right into the goat room of the frat house. She kicked the door shut behind her, wild eyed, heavy breathed, and at her wit's end. She furrowed her brows, however, when she noticed small pockets of pale, terrified college students cowering in corners, hiding behind overturned tables, shaking, rocking back and forth spread throughout the room.

"Halle-freakin'-lujah." She grunted, turning herself over to stand straight. She frowned when she saw Oz crouching nearby on the floor with his head buried in his hands. "Oz? What are you-"

Oliver was cut off when Willow suddenly burst into the room from another door, slamming it shut behind her. The redhead was obviously hysterical, slapping and scratching at her body. The blonde Slayer immediately went to her friend, completely forgetting about their earlier fight. She went to hold onto her, but Willow resisted and continued to hit at herself and now at Oliver.

"Get them off me! Get them off!" Willow screamed in terror, seemingly knocking Oz out of his daze.

"Will!" He quickly stood and came forward. Oliver eyed him, seeing that he was now normal and completely non-werewolf mode. He reached forward and took over in comforting Willow from Oliver. The redhead looked up at him, shaking and eyes blinking rapidly.

"C-couldn't...get them...off. F-f-fireflies. T-too many!" Willow claimed hysterically. Oliver could've laughed if it weren't for the terrified look in her best friend's eyes. "And they flew...in my mouth... And my eyes...and I...couldn't breath and..."

"It's okay. We're okay." Oz said reassuringly, wrapping her in a hug.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're not okay at the moment." Oliver said gently with a frown, rubbing at her irritated shoulder. "We really need to find Xander and get the hell out of dodge."

"I'd offer my opinion, but you jerks aren't going to hear it anyway." A familiar voice suddenly snarked from off the side. The three college students turned curiously to see Xander sitting off to the side, grumbling to himself. "Not that "didn't go to college boy" is worth listening to. Might as well just hand out with my new best friend, "Bleeding Dummy Head" for all you dorks care."

Oliver furrowed her brows angrily and stepped forward, giving him a harsh shove. "What the hell are you talking about?" She asked him, raising a brow when he turned to look up at her sharply.

"Y-you heard that?" Xander asked in shock, standing to his feet quickly. "You can see me? Good. Oh, God, that's good." He remarked shakily while the Slayer just continued to stare up at him in confusion.

"The house separated us." Oz realized, looking around at the others. "It wanted to scare us."

"But we...we got away." Willow remarked, but Oliver just sighed, shaking her head.

"No, it gathered us in this one room. We were so terrified that we all ended up in this room at the same time. The question is...why here?" The four of them began to look around at the room, trying to find the answer. Then they all found the answer. The floor. There was a large white circle painted onto the floor with a black and red pentagram painted in the middle and multiple other symbols around it. It definitely looked occult-ish.

"I saw them painting it." Xander remarked, looking around them. "They were copying it out of...that." He quickly crossed to an occult book lying atop a table. Oliver followed quickly behind him and looked down at the book. It was open to the page with the symbol.

"I think this is Gaelic." Willow stated, looking over Oliver's shoulder. The blonde turned towards her.

"Is it translate-able?"

"Reeeleeease meee!" The same voice from earlier growled out, as well as a loud banging and pounding resounding against the walls of the room. Things were scurrying withing the walls and scratching at the doors.

Oliver took a shaky breath, shaking herself out. "Will, you gotta give us something here."

"Okay. Um, um, um, the icon's called the Mark of Gachnar." Willow quickly translated what little she could, holding the book close to her chest. "I think this is a summoning spell for something called..."

"Gachnar?" Xander asked helpfully when he noticed her beginning to struggle with the translation.

"Yes!" Willow grinned. "Somehow the beginning of the spell was accidentally triggered. Gachnar's trying to manifest itself. To come into being."

"How, exactly?" Oliver questioned quickly. She was so ready to get out of that house that she was willing to do anything in order to do it.

"It feeds on...fear." Willow explained.

"Okay, so our fears are helping to manifest it. We're feeding it and helping it come to be!" Oliver growled to herself, waving her arms in irritation at herself and her friend's fears. "We really need to stop."

"Well, if we close our eyes and say it's all just a dream, it'll...**stab us to death**!" Xander's eyes widened as the others stare at him in slight anger. "These things are real!"

"We're feeding it..." Oliver said quickly, running her hands through her loose locks nervously. "Maybe if we can figure out how to get everybody out of the house, we-"

All around them, the bolted door suddenly slammed, nearly buckling as something behind them tried to get in from the other side.

"Great plan!" Xander cried fearfully. "Let's go!" He ran over and yanked open the other door, revealing a...chainsaw wielding maniac! Xander (as well as the others) screamed in shock, before they all realized who actually held the chainsaw. "Giles? Look, it's Giles!" Xander grinned at the sight of the ex-librarian, then exclaimed in surprise. "With a chainsaw."

Behind Giles entered a furry Anya, whom ran straight for Xander. "Xander."

"Glad you could make it." Xander said almost sarcastically, but then he realized that if it weren't for her, they'd probably all be stuck in that house for far longer. He vaguely wondered why she was wearing a bunny costume, though.

"The walls closed up behind us." Giles reported as he quickly crossed towards Willow, taking the book from her. "Gachnar, of course. Its presence infects the reality of the house, but it hasn't achieved full manifestation. We can't allow it to come into being." He said quickly to his Slayer.

Oliver swallowed thickly. "Well, if it does come into being, I could...fight it?"

"Oliver, this is Gachnar." Giles said simply as he showed her an illustration of the monster in the book. He looked big, horrific, powerful-looking and there were a few Gaelic words written underneath.

"Alright, I don't wanna fight that." Oliver shook her head. She was running out of energy and she wasn't afraid to admit it.

"Whatever we're doing, let's do it fast." Xander suggested earnestly.

"I have it." Giles stated as he read from the book. ""The summoning spell for Gachnar can be shut down in one of two ways. Destroying the Mark of Gachnar...""

Oliver was so into getting out of the house, that she moved forward and got down on her knees. She swung her fist backwards and quickly snapped it forward and into the ground. She pried up the splintered floorboards, bisecting the icon and effectively destroying it. The rattling and howling sounds from the demon abruptly stop and Oliver sighed in relief, glancing up at her Watcher.

""...is _not_ one of them and will, in fact, immediately bring forth the Fear Demon itself."" Giles finished with quite the peevish tone as he switched his glare between the desecrated symbol and his Slayer.

"O-oh..." Oliver mumbled uneasily as she stood straight right before a deep rumbling began throughout the house.

"Look!" Willow exclaimed as she turned, looking down at the symbol. The Scooby Gang turned, but stepped back as the Fear Demon slowly began to manifest from the hole in the ground. It looked truly grotesque, horrifying, even, as it flexed its muscles. Suddenly, it hesitated and looked directly above him. Only to see Oliver standing over him and dwarfing his tiny size. Soon, Giles, Willow, Oz, Xander, and Anya joined in to look down at the demon.

"Wait... This little guy...is Gachnar?" Oliver questioned, holding back a giggle.

"Big overture, little show." Xander commented.

Gachnar began to shake his fist up at Oliver. "I am the Dark Lord of nightmares, the bringer of terror... Tremble before me! Fear me!"

"He's so cute." Willow smiled.

"Who's a little fear demon?" Xander cooed in his best baby voice. "C'mon, who's a little fear demon?"

"Don't...taunt the fear demon." Giles scolded.

"Why?" Xander asked fearfully, taking a step back. "Can he hurt me?"

"No, it's just...tacky." Giles frowned, shaking his head before he turned to look at the blonde Slayer once more. "Be that as it may, Oliver, when it comes to slaying..."

"It doesn't matter whether it's small or large?" Oliver questioned with a cheeky grin up at him.

"You'll never be as good a Slayer as Buffy Summers, you know." Gachnar stated as he pointed up at her.

"Mmhmm." Oliver hummed before she lifted her foot and quickly slammed it down onto the fear demon, effectively squashing him. There was a particularly squishy sound that accompanied the death that grossed out everyone present.

* * *

"Quality treats here, Giles." Oz remarked as he, Willow, Oliver, Anya, and Xander looked through the leftover candy from tonight's holiday. They were all sitting in his living room while Giles himself was pouring over books at his desk.

"Please finish them." Giles retorted easily as he continued to read through his books.

"Mm!" Oliver smiled happily as she munched on a Milky Way. "I gotta say that this is way better than running around in a haunted house. Chocolate always solves every problem."

"I think I'm gonna barf." Willow grumbled as she dropped her own chocolate and leaned back in her seat next to Oliver. The blonde had long since gotten her wound disinfected, stitched and re-wrapped by Giles. While Oz was studying for pre-med, he was definitely not as good at stitching as Giles was; the ex-librarian just had more experience with the subject.

"Well, maybe not that." Oliver conceded.

For the better half of the time they'd been sitting there, Xander had been eyeing Anya's appearance. The bunny costumed woman finally had enough and turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"That's your scary costume?" Xander asked disbelievingly through a mouthful of Kit Kat.

"Bunnies frighten me." Anya replied, uncomfortably.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Giles growled as he stood and walked towards where they sat, standing behind the couch. "The inscription!"

"What's the problem now?" Oliver asked with a raised eyebrow.

He frowned as he handed the book over to her. "I should have translated the Gaelic inscription under the illustration of Gachnar."

"Why, what does it say?"

"Actual size." Giles replied blandly before he walked off to make himself a well-deserved cup of tea. Oliver shrugged, knowing that the fight was done and over with. Time to move on. In more ways than one.

* * *

**Author's note: Hmm...not much to say 'bout this one. There's no Spike, because, in all honesty...he wasn't in the episode. *shrugs* Nothing much I can do there. Anyways, if you liked (and even if you hated it) please review. I accept creative criticism. I've always thought it helped us grow :3 Thanks! I'll have the next chapter out soon enough!**


	3. Chapter 3 Wild Child

**Disclaimer: I don't have the honor of owning Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That goes to the all powerful God, Joss Whedon. All hail Whedon! Also a slight warning, this one's shorter than the others because it doesn't have much to do with Oliver. It has more to do with Oz and Willow.**

* * *

Chapter 3 "Wild Child"

It's night time on UC Sunnydale campus. It's peaceful; all is quiet and there aren't that many people out. All is well in the world. Until a young, blonde girl is seen running away from a man. The two soon reach a secluded area and the blonde soon turns and reveals that it's actually Oliver Northman, the girl that is quickly using her time to become the Slayer throughout the state of California, mainly Sunnydale. The man just so happened to be her prey, a vampire.

"I gotta say, this is way better of a location to be doing this." Oliver grinned at her opponent. "I can't really do much with people watching me." She soon began to, for lack of better words, beat the crap out of the vampire. "I mean, seriously, it's like going to the bathroom. And there's people just glaring at ya' and you're like "Hey, I'm tryna' pee here!" and they're just like, "Wow, she's got beautiful hair!" Well, maybe not exactly like that..." She suddenly spun around in their fighting and stabbed him straight in the heart. He exploded in a cloud of dust and Oliver sighed, placing her stake in her hoodie pocket. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Honestly, these vamps are seeming so flacid lately." She muttered to herself as she pulled her long hair back and out of her face. It had begun to get in her face and she was definitely not done with fighting for the night. "No Big Bad? C'mon, it's a tad bit boring." She grumbled to herself.

Little did she know that a Big Bad was actually watching her at a safe distance. A certain peroxide blonde Big Bad, at that.

"Watch your mouth, little girl." He frowned as he watched her begin to walk down the street. "You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. 'Cause the big bad is back, and this time, it's-" Suddenly, he's shot in the back with electricity and thoroughly electrocuted. He cried out at the sudden pain and soon passed out. Three of the same commando men that Oliver, Oz, Willow, and Xander had enounctered on Halloween walked forward and quickly dragged the downed vampire away with them.

Oliver paused thoughtfully before she looked over her shoulder at where Spike had once stood, only to see nothing. She furrowed her brows before she shrugged and shook her head. "I thought I heard something." She pondered to herself before she continued on calmly.

* * *

The next night, Oliver, Willow, Oz, and Xander were sitting at a table at the Bronze, each sipping at a red Solo cup.

"The Bronze is more fun this year, isn't it?" Willow asked with a large smile.

"I bet it's 'cause we're in college." Oliver supplied from where she sat with her head cradled in the palms of her hands. "We've got bragging rights."

"Yeah." Oz nodded emotionlessly. "Curfew-free nights of Mom and Pop-less hootenanny."

Oliver snorted with a grin. "Hootenanny." She mumbled to herself, producing a small smile from the werewolf. For some reason, Oliver had always liked that word and she had to giggle everytime she heard it. Not to mention, it just sounded hilarious coming out of Oz's mouth.

"Coed dating prospects who find townies sexy and dangerous." Xander grinned, but it quickly turned upside down when everyone turned and looked at him funny. "What, I can dream."

"Mmhmm." Oliver hummed with a raised eyebrow. "Questionably, we're here, having fun, when college is so awesometacular."

"Because the Bronze is nice and familiar." Willow smiled in return. "It's like a big, comfy blanky."

"I was under the impression that I was your big, comfy blanky." Oz remarked with a fake frown.

"Awe, you're my-my person blanky. This my place blanky." She explained to him before she turned to face Oliver again. "You know, with all the shock of the new, it's nice to have one place that you can come back to where everything's predictable." And just as she finished saying this, Giles walked towards them with a large mug in hand.

"Hello." He smiled, but Oliver assumed the worse and quickly stood.

"Giles, what's wrong?"

"Oh, no, Oliver, don't get up." The Watcher replied and smiled reassuringly as she slowly sat down again. "No, nothing like that. No, I just, you know, I thought I'd drop by. Uh, latte anyone? On me?" Everyone was just too busy staring at him in shock to process his words. Giles really wasn't clubbing type. Well, he wasn't anymore. Back in his Ripper days, he had been the type, but now he was more into the room full of occult books scene.

"I'm sorry to say, but your blanky isn't so predictable, Willow." Oliver told the redhead with a little smirk.

"Sorry." The ex-librarian appologized as he squeezed into a chair beside Xander. "Splendid." Giles grinned as he observed the dancing people and the band setting up their equipment onstage. "Well, it's been ages since I've been to a gig." Everyone at the table raised their eyebrows at him questioningly. "Well, don't look that way. I'm-I'm-I'm down with the new music. And I have the albums to prove it."

Oliver giggled lightly at her Watcher. "Sorry, Giles, but the fact that you still have 8-tracks and records kinda ruin it for ya'."

"Don't scoff, gang." Oz jumped to defend the ex-librarian. "I've seen Giles' collection. He was an animal in his day."

"Thank you." Giles replied with a frown as he slipped his glasses off.

"Alright, alright." Oliver grinned, holding her hands out innocently. "It's like the Rolling Stones, I guess. Giles, you keep rolling on, too."

"Exactly." Willow smiled at the Slayer before she turned to look at Giles. "I think It's brave that you're here."

"Well, thank you, all." Giles said sarcastically. "You've made me feel right at home."

"Isn't home that empty place you're trying to escape?" Xander quipped easily, but Giles just glared at him for a moment before our attentions were all turned to the stage as the band began to play. Tonight, the band was Shy, and Oliver had to admit that they were pretty good a band. The singer had a strange voice, but it worked for the way that they played their music. It was almost haunting.

"Oh, yeah." Willow smiled as she recognized the singer. "Veruca's playing tonight."

"Yeah, every Wednesday. I told you." Oz replied, but Willow just smiled nervously in return. Oz turned his head to continue watching the band and both Oliver and Willow frowned when they noticed how entranced he was. It was almost like nobody else was there but Veruca and Oz and it didn't sit well with Oliver at all.

She cleared her throat and reached over, lightly nudging at the werewolf's arm to get his attention. "Oz, when are the Dingoes up here? Haven't seen you guys play in a while."

Oz looked like he had to actually think about the answer and that just made Oliver furrow her brows in confusion. She'd never seen him this distracted. It was like he was under a spell or something. "Oh, we're up next Friday." He was obviously mesmerized by Veruca and nothing seemed as important to him as Veruca.

"They're good, aren't they?" Willow asked as she took his hand in her own. She was trying to remind him that his girlfriend, the one that usually recieved his undivided attention from was sitting right beside him. And that he should stop practically drooling over the vocalist onstage.

"Nothing special."

"Agreeable." Oliver nodded in agreement to Oz's words. "She sounds like a ghost. Reminds me a tad bit too much like work." Willow sent her a grateful smile which Oliver easily returned. Oz's attention was somewhere not on Willow and that wasn't a good thing. The blonde liked to think that she had a sixth sense about this kinda stuff (despite the fact that she'd never had a serious boyfriend); she knew when a couple was about to hit a rough patch in their relationship.

"Really? I think she's rather remarkable." Giles put his two sense in and didn't notice the Slayer's glare now pointed at him. "Such...presence for someone her age." Oliver blinked with her mouth agape as she took a glance around. Every male in the vicinity seemed to be just as entranced as Oz was. Now, _that_ was remarkable. Oliver had to admit that Veruca knew how to handle the stage and get all eyes on her. She'd never tell Willow, either, but she wasn't that bad of a singer.

* * *

The next day, Oliver and Willow were receiving the papers they had turned in earlier that week in Professor Walsh's Psychology class. Oliver was at the end of the line, so she was quite surprised when the professor stopped her and began to speak with her.

"Ms. Northman, I want you to prepare to lead a discussion group next class on the paper topic." Walsh told her professionally without a glance up at her. Oliver's eyes widened in surprise, but she held it in when her professor looked up at her. "That was smart work."

"I-I've never done something like that... Am I allowed to ask questions about it?" Oliver asked in confusion, but the professor didn't seem to mind her question.

"If you have any questions, bring them up with one of the TAs." Walsh told her and Oliver smiled dazedly with a nod before she turned to leave the class, looking over her grade.

"Are you okay?" Willow questioned when she noticed her dazed look. "How'd you do?" Oliver could only smile happily and hold up her paper for her redheaded friend to see her grade. Willow's eyes widened in shock as she took the paper and looked over the comments written. "This is good. I mean, this is excellent. You did better than me. This is so unfair!" She then gaped and turned to look at her friend. "You made me jealous of you academically. Ollie!" The two excited girls shared a hug then and Oliver giggled.

"Ha, yeah, I bet you're not too used to that." Oliver smiled as they pulled apart.

"Wow. I guess Professor Walsh isn't so ogrey, after all." Willow observed as they began to walk along.

"Not to mention, she's asked me to lead a discussion for the next lecture. I've never done it before, but it sounds like a real honor." Oliver said with a small sigh as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"She wants you to lead a discussion group?" Willow gaped in shock once more. "Okay, jealous again. Jealous, jealous...okay, I'm back." She smiled and Oliver giggled at her quick bounce back. "Hey, I'm meeting Oz at the cafe. You wanna come? I'll buy you a celebratory cookie."

"Make it a coffee and I'm your girl." Oliver grinned at her friend, happy to see that what happened last night wasn't affecting her friend quite as much as she thought it would've. "But, I gotta go see the TA first, so I'll catch up."

"Cool." Willow smiled and the two split ways. Oliver, to find Riley, and Willow, to find Oz.

After Oliver had talked about the upcoming discussion group and what was expected of her, the blonde had bought herself a cheese burger and fries and gone to find Willow and Oz in the courtyard of the cafe. Just as she walked up, however, she noticed Oz walking in one direction and Veruca walking towards her. Oliver frowned as she watched the other female go.

"Alright, I know I took a shower this morning, so it can't be me." Oliver said curiously as she took a seat in the chair that Oz had previously emptied.

"Me." Willow replied sadly. "I don't speak musicianese." She rolled her eyes at the concept and Oliver raised an eyebrow as she munched on a french fry.

"Well, I could've given ya' lessons on that one." The blonde offered and received a confused look in return. "My dad plays guitar and my brother plays the drums. I can play a little of both, but my main instrument is piano. It's why I'm taking music appreciation." Oliver admitted as she took a large bite out of her burger.

"And how come you didn't tell me I look like a crazy birthday cake in this shirt?" Willow questioned and Oliver's eyes widened.

"I thought you were still in the Halloween mood from last week." She responded honestly.

"He thinks she's sexy." Willow pouted and Oliver frowned with furrowed brows. "He-he gets this blushy thing going on behind his ears? That's for me only."

"Will, just 'cause Oz checks out another girl, it doesn't mean that anything's gonna change." Oliver rushed to assure her friend. "He may think she's sexy, but he loves you. Nine times outta ten, love trumps lust."

"I know. I-I know. And I don't wanna be the kind of girl who freaks every time my boyfriend notices somebody else. I mean, I have wrong feelings about other guys sometimes, but I feel guilty, and I flog and punish."

"Precisely!" Oliver smiled as she pushed her plate over to sit in the middle of them and Willow smiled, reaching out fo a fry. "Oz probably feels guilty and he's no doubt flogging and... Let's stop that train of thought before it even pulls into the station." Oliver's eyes had widened at the mental picture she had just given herself while Willow giggled lightly at her friend's expense. The blonde smiled at seeing her friend laughing at least a little bit. "Look, this whole thing's gonna blow over and it's gonna be Non-Veruca City, okay?"

"You think?"

"Mmhmm. Oz is too loyal a werewolf to cheat. Besides, he's gonna be locked up in the cemetery tonight and will have no chance to even think about it."

"Exactly." Willow smiled as she thought over the whole situation. Oliver grinned in return and took a much bigger bite out of her burger. Now that Willow was happier, the blonde could focus on bigger and badder things. Like her stomach eating her lung.

* * *

"Professor Walsh, excuse me." Oliver asked as she ran over to stand in front of Riley and Walsh. They had been walking through the hall and Oliver had another question about the discussion group. Before she could ask, however, Walsh spoke up.

"I hope you're careful when you walk around campus after dark. I was attacked by wild dogs last night."

"A-attacked? Wild dogs?" Oliver asked, comprehension dawning on her. Last night was the night before the full moon. It could've been a werewolf.

"Two of them." Riley inputted.

"Biggest things I've ever seen. The first one was... Well, for a moment, I thought it was a gorilla." Walsh admitted at her own shock.

Riley frowned for a moment before he remembered Oliver's sudden appearance and turned to her with a small smile. "Did you have a question, Oliver?"

"Um..." Oliver honestly had forgotten her question entirely in favor of thinking about contacting Giles. "Uh, no! Nah, I was just saying hi and that I'm successfully preparing myself for that discussion. Bye, now!" She grinned and waved before she turned and ran off once more.

Walsh and Riley stared after her thoughtfully for a moment.

"Well...she's peculiar." Riley mused in thought before he and the professor continued on with what they were doing.

Oliver wasted no time in getting to her Watcher's house. If her hunch was correct, they needed to act and fast. Once she reached Giles's apartment, she rung the doorbell and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"Oliver." He smiled at the sight of her and Oliver knew it was probably because he had just been watching television of some form. The man really needed to get himself a job, and soon. "Excellent. Uh, come in."

"Well, you look excited to see me." Oliver mused as she walked into the apartment.

"Can I get you anything? Tea? I made a very interesting moussaka last night, if you're hungry."

"Not a big fan of the eggplant variety, sorry." Oliver frowned at the very thought of the plant.

"You came on business, I hope?" His smile was just a tad bit too excited for Oliver's taste and she was quick to reprimand him.

"Mmhmm, quit smiling. People's lives may be at stake."

"I only meant, uh, that I'm at the ready." Giles at least had the grace to look embarrased.

"Alright, well, the business is that my pyschology professor told me that she was almost attacked last night by two wild dogs. On the night before the full moon?"

"Werewolves." Giles replied immediately as he pondered over her words. "Two of them?"

"I'm guessing a pack's in town or something."

"Huh... Well, I've not seen anything about the attacks in the newspapers or on the news. Have you spoken with Oz?"

"About to go there." Oliver replied as she turned and headed back for the front door.

"Good, right. Get right on it. And I'll see what I can find out. And you report back to me-"

"As soon as is possible, my British friend. See ya'." Oliver grinned over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.

Oliver checked at the Dingo house for Oz, but when she asked, Dennis told her that Oz had been out for a little over an hour. He was spending the night with Willow that night. That was code for "It's a full moon night, therefore, I'm not staying home tonight" for the regular people. So, Oliver went to the cemetary to check and see if Oz had already locked himself in. When she walked into the underground crypt, she saw that Oz was re-enforcing the cage. Well, that answered her questions without having to ask them.

"Hey." Oz greeted when he noticed her presence and slid his goggles off.

"So... Guess I don't have to ask if Fuzzy Oz escaped last night." Oliver mused as Oz finished up putting the tools back in the tool box.

"Yeah. Any news about attacks?" Oz asked her worriedly, but Oliver just shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nah, just a woman being chased by two wild dogs."

"Two? Really?" Oz seemed genuinely shocked at this news and Oliver frowned, leaning against the iron cage walls.

"Weird, huh? Oz, can you remember anything from when you change? I mean, even flashes or small glimpses?" Oliver was definitely curious. She'd never had a werewolf as a friend and she'd never gotten the chance to ask Oz about his changes. This was the first lunar cycle that the Slayer had even been around a werewolf to even talk about it. She felt that now was as good a time as any to question him about it.

"No. When the change comes, it's like... I'm gone. Total blackout." Oz replied and Oliver hummed in thought.

"Well, just to warn Fuzzy Oz if he's listening in right now, I find Thing Two, Thing One's gonna have a roommate tonight." Oliver informed before she smiled, patting Oz's arm and turning to walk back up the steps. At the last second, Oliver paused and bit her lips, before she turned to face her generally quiet friend. "Hey, Oz, are you alright, man? I mean, I know you're not big on the words, but...you seem kinda more quiet than usual. It's worrysome. I'm worried about ya'."

Oz smiled at her concern, but it didn't completely reach his eyes. His mind was running a thousand miles a minute and he was definitely distracted for the moment. "I'm okay. Thanks."

"Alrighty then. But... Just remember, I'm here if you wanna talk about something. We may not have known each other for that long, but, Oz...I've kinda come to think of you as sorta like an older brother here." Oliver confided in him and he nodded. "Just...I'm here for ya', 'kay?"

"Yeah, I know. I'll see ya' later."

"Okay." Oliver nodded, fiddling with her fingers. "Have a fun Fuzzy Oz night, then." She turned and trotted up the stairs. Oz stared after her thoughtfully for a moment. He knew that he didn't necessarily think of Oliver in the sisterly love kinda way, but there was nothing he could do about it. With a shake of his head, Oz sighed and turned to test the durability of the cage. He had way too many woman problems as it was. Willow, Veruca, and now Oliver? This was getting ridiculous.

* * *

The next day, the day of the final night of the new moon, Oliver was walking around town. She was out to buy a paper. Last night, she hadn't found any wolves out, so she hoped that meant that Oz's patch job had worked to keep him in the cage at least. That meant that all Oliver had to worry about was the other wolf that was roaming around town at night. The blonde paused as she noticed a familiar redhead walking along in what seemed to be depression. Oliver frowned, but quickly turned her head when she noticed a shiny, silver car come racing down the street towards Willow.

"Willow, watch out!" Oliver yelled, knowing that she was too far away to push her out of the way in time. Nonetheless, Willow seemed to not be paying too much attention, so Oliver quickly began to run across the street. Before she can get there, she heard a loud honking noise before the car continued down the street. "Oh, thank God." Oliver mumbled under her breath when she noticed that Riley had appeared out of nowhere and pulled Willow out of the street in time.

"Willow, are you okay?" Riley asked her quickly, but she seemed to be too in shock to reply.

"Thanks, Riley." Oliver said as she held onto Willow for dear life. That had really scared the Slayer. After everything that Willow had gone through, only to be killed by something so..._human_ as a car... Oliver could barely even process the thought of Willow dying in the first place. "I was too far to get to her in time."

"It was lucky." Riley replied. "She almost got hit."

Oliver frowned as she noticed Willow's puffy red eyes and her trembling lips. She had obviously been crying and the blonde's mind raced a mile a minute in order to contemplate on what had just happened. "Willow, what's wrong? What happened?" The redhead just shook her head, her chin trembling in her efforts to keep from crying even more.

"Maybe you should take her home." Riley suggested and the girls both looked up at him, momentarily forgetting that he was there. He leaned down to look Willow in the eye seriously. "Whatever it is, it's not worth hurting yourself over."

"Thanks, Riley." Oliver mouthed silently to him before she began to lead her friend away and back towards their dorm room.

* * *

Once they had returned to their dorm, Oliver had sat Willow down on her bed and covered her with her cuddliest blanket. Then, she had her tell her everything that had happened. Oliver was in shock that Oz would do something like that to somebody as sweet as Willow. She knew that he couldn't necessarily help it when he was in his wolf mode (as he'd told her so the night before), but he had lied to them all. He had told Willow that everything was okay and that nothing was wrong, but it was all just a lie to save his own ass. Part of Oliver wanted to side with Oz, of course. That little part included the girl that had always wanted to have an older brother to be there for her when she was having problems like these. Maybe Oz wasn't the older brother she'd always wanted, after all.

"I need to go find Veruca before sunset." Oliver sighed as she stood from Willow's bed. "When I do find her, she's gone, I promise. She's too much of a liability for Sunnydale." The blonde turned to leave before she frowned and turned back to Willow with a frown. "Is...is there anything I can get you before I go? I mean, tissue...chocolate? Ice cream! I can get you ice cream."

"No." Willow smiled bitterly as she shook her head and Oliver sighed with a nod.

"Alright, take it easy. I'll be back as soon as I've found her. And... Riley was right. Don't hurt yourself over something that Oz was stupid enough to let happen. Put the blame where it belongs: on Veruca, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay." Oliver said in an overly bright tone as she clapped her hands. "Alright, I'll be back soon. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. I promise."

"Just...know that I'll always love ya', Will." Oliver said sincerely and received a nod in return. So, with a final sigh, Oliver turned and practically stomped out of the room. "Oz, when I find ya', I'm gonna kill ya'!" She muttered her breath as she marched down the hall.

* * *

Once Oliver had entered Oz's room at the Dingo house, she quietly closed the door behind her. There was a moment of silence as she stood there staring at the werewolf and he took the brunt of her stare. Oz knew he was guilty and he wasn't about to fight against one of his best friends over it. The worst part was that she wasn't showing any anger. He didn't know if he'd rather Oliver be angry at him or just disappointed; anything but this silence.

"Where's Veruca, Oz?" Oliver asked calmly and Oz sighed.

"I don't know. I already checked all the usual haunts. But I know the areas we're drawn to. I'm pretty sure I can follow her scent." He told her as he stood from where he sat on his bed. Oliver just stared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let's go." She finally said and turned to leave.

"Look, Ollie, you should know that-"

"Oz." Oliver turned to face him seriously and he almost lost his cool at the sight of her blue eyes frosted over with a chilly cold he'd never seen in her eyes before. "I've decided not to be mad at you." He seemed confused at that, but she continued on anyways. "I'm just disappointed in you. You could've asked me for help. I offered it and you lied to my face. Now's not the time, though. We have to find Veruca before she hurts someone else." With that, she turned and strode out of the room with the werewolf right behind her.

His nose led them out into the woods near the college. Before they started looking, they had stopped by Giles's apartment and picked up a tranquilizer gun and informed him of what was going on.

"This way." Oz informed quickly before he took off at a brisker pace than before. "She's near here. I can smell here."

"More like...you can smell the clothes she left for you to find." Oliver pointed out with the gun at the pile of the clothes left there with Veruca's scent all over them.

"Well, they could be from the other night when she...turned into a werewolf."

"I think she wanted to throw you off her scent, Oz." The blonde replied quietly.

"Willow." Oz said upon realization and spun around, taking off back towards the college. Oliver cursed herself for not thinking of it sooner and quickly took off behind him. They had to make it back before Veruca got to her-

Oliver's thoughts were suddenly cut off as she was body slammed into and knocked back. Oliver wasted no time and quickly bounced right back up and grabbed her tranquilizer. She took a glance at the man she'd run into before she took off once more. She just hoped that Oz could get to Veruca in time. She also just hoped that she could get there before Fuzzy Oz decided he wanted a snack. As she ran, she filed away the commando's appearance. That was the second time she ran into a guy like that and this time, it wasn't Halloween. So either the guy was paintballing, or something weird was going on.

Oliver ran into the college and because it was a weekend, all was quiet throughout the halls. She was able to pick up the sounds of wild growling and crashing noises, so she quickly made her way to one of the chemistry rooms. She entered just in time to see a werewolf Oz running straight at Willow. Oliver's eyes widened and before she could even process what she was doing, she raced forward and grabbed onto one of his hind legs, pulling him far enough away from Willow. That got his attention and he turned to attack her next.

Oliver was quick, however, and she pushed him roughly to the side and pulled the tranquilizer out to aim it right for his chest. Without any hesitation, she shot him and he went down with a loud whine. Oliver watched with a cautious frown as he attempted to get back up, but fell back down with another feeble whine. Oliver turned at the sound gasps and saw that Willow was thoroughly traumatized, so she rushed to comfort her like the best friend was supposed to do.

* * *

That night, after getting Oz secured in his cage and disposing of Veruca's dead body, Oliver had tucked Willow into bed and gone to speak with Giles. They ended up talking until the early morning.

"I'm not quite sure I understand." Giles remarked with a sip of his tea.

"With all the stuff that was going on with Oz and Willow, I'm not surprised. I figured I should let you know about it, though." Oliver sighed, holding a mug of hot chocolate in her chilly hands.

"W-well, this fellow in the woods, he was in military garb?"

"With the weaponry you'd expect a military man to carry." Oliver nodded. "But the weird thing is that we all saw three of the same guys roaming around on Halloween. At the time, we all thought they were just in costume or something."

"But maybe they were working." Giles mused.

"Honestly, we need to figure out who they are because that guy made me almost not get to Willow in time. If I hadn't gotten there when I had-"

"You saved Willow."

"In all honesty, I don't think she wanted me to, now." Oliver sighed. "Giles, she's so depressed now. I've never seen her like this. It seems like it's just too painful for her to even breathe. I just don't know what they'll do to deal with this..."

* * *

Later that day, Oliver was sitting in her dorm room when she heard a sudden knocking at the door. She furrowed her brows and stood to answer it. There, standing on the other side was Oz with his sheepskin coat on.

"Oz." Oliver frowned at the look in his eyes. They were glassy and his eyes were rimmed with red. He wouldn't cry, though. Oz was too stoic to cry. "What..."

"I'm leaving town." He explained seriously and Oliver frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I...need to get away for a while. I can't be near Willow right now. Or anybody. I've got to get the animal under control and this is the only way I can." Oliver just stared at him for a moment before she sighed and shook her head.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do, Oz?" Oliver asked sadly. She didn't want to see Oz go; they had become great friends over the few weeks they'd known each other. She liked that they could talk and she didn't have to worry about him staring at her boobs the whole time. She'd caught Xander do that a couple times, but never Oz. But if he wanted to leave, she wouldn't stop him. He wanted space and that's what he would get.

"Yeah. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"But you'll be back?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head. They stood their in silence for a moment before Oliver quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. Oz was in shock for a split second before he melted into the hug and calmly returned it.

"Be safe. And come back in one piece. Please." Oliver said as she felt tears burning at the back of her eyes. She wasn't about to cry, however. Oz and Willow were breaking up, so she wasn't about to make this about her. No, this was about Oz and Willow. Oz was leaving, so she knew that Willow would need comforting from her.

"I will." Oz nodded as they slowly pulled apart. "Take care of her for me?"

"Will do." Oliver nodded. So after a brief smile, Oz turned and headed back down the hall to leave Sunnydale. Oliver watched him leave with a frown before she sighed, shaking her head. This wouldn't end well for anyone. She could tell.

* * *

**Author's Note: So what do you guys think? Is anybody reading? I mean, I haven't gotten any feedback and I'm not complaining, but I'd like to hear your opinions on this story. I take all kinds of constructive criticism and I'd very much appreciate it to get some reviews please. Tell me if you liked it, if you hated it, whatever! :3 Hope you enjoyed, I'll have the next chapter out in a few days!**


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